Crossing Over
by Klaatu Visitor
Summary: An accident pulls scientist Carolyn Maddie Wells (Maddie from another reality) through the portal and into the Danny Phantom universe. Vlad only spends days instead of years in the hospital and finds new love as his timeline is changed. But a terrifying nemesis was also pulled through the portal. Can Danny and Vlad put their differences aside and fight this terrifying menace?
1. Chapter 1

Crossing Over

by

Klaatu Visitor

Vlad Masters and eventually Danny Phantom's life is about to become a lot more complicated as a visitor from a parallel reality accidentally stumbles into their universe as a result of the portal accident. Timelines will change but prior ones will be remembered.

Chapter 1: Where am I? General POV

This is an AU that changes the timeline from Canon and uses the back history of Checkmate and Endgame.

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Checkmate, or Endgame.

**(Note: The first chapter is set in the past. Events in the current universe are present day. **

**More chapters on the way. Enjoy!) **

General POV

The groups of scientists stared in awe at a small portal in Wisconsin State University in in present day Wisconsin. Before the group were flashes of another universe, specifically another Wisconsin and in awe stood one scientist in particular who saw through this target chamber what was suppose to be the effects of the various spectrum of laser light passing through a very special crystal. The crystal was a rare find, having the semblance of an egg and showing strange glowing properties that could not be explained. Instead, a window to an alternate world had been opened. At first guess one of the scientists, Dr. Reginald Gaffon thought the image was a holo-projection of some movie that the crystal was somehow creating except the image did not follow the properties of any normal image. Looking on the back of the chamber the image appeared to vanish, yet it still remained on the opposite side to view. But the scene of the images appearing in the chamber wasn't what truly bothered a young intern named Carolyn Maddie Wells who was an lab assistant for the chamber project. She flipped out her smart phone and began to film the experiment for her own records.

"My God, the man staring in the portal looks like a young version of my late husband! A-and the woman looks like an auburn haired version of...me!" Carolyn gasped. The other scientists looked at each other, noticing the uncanny resemblance and said nothing. She pulled a mini sensor that resembled a small pocket watch only shiny metallic black. The sensor read fluctuating levels of the quantum field that was present with occasional erratic spikes that flashed on the screen.

"I can see what look like young college kids in lab coats. What, why is that one pouring diet cola into whatever that thing is. I don't think he's suppose to do that!" stammered Gaffon who was gazing at the image with disbelief. The entire incident replayed again, one time differently with a mysterious teenager who appeared to float, have white hair and glowing green eyes who then pushed one of the lab assistants out of the way so he didn't get hit with the blast. This then flickered to repeat the usual set of events in which that same lab assistant was being hit. It played like alternate timelines in a strange movie.

Carolyn walked over closest to the strange sight and hovered over the chamber despite warnings from her fellow colleagues to not stand to such a close proximity to it during tests, but she was overtaken with what she saw...along with everyone else. She was tired of the warnings so she brought a dermal pen with her in case of injury. "Better be safe than sorry." She thought internally.

She continued to watch the strange events playing through the window of the dimensional portal. Each time the event replayed the same way, occasionally replaying with the mysterious teenager in a black suit with a white letter "D" emblem on the front would fly past and save the lab assistant. The voices were mostly garbled but everyone heard the female in the image state something to the effect of calculations being off, while the fatter lab student appeared not to listen while crying "Banzai!"

The chamber she was studying glowed momentarily and then she looked with horror as she saw the young man in his twenties who looked like her late husband grabbing his acne riddled face and running away from the other two students, which then immediately followed him. Then the entire episode replayed again one more time and then vanished.

"Did we just see another universe?" Carolyn was shocked. Dr. Lancer who was the head of the science department watched in awe.

"It may be another quantum reality but I cannot say with certainty what is was we saw." Lancer theorized. Lancer was the only other one there as the other lab students had not yet arrived.

The next instant a glowing began to appear around the chamber again only this time it continued to glow and hum with a sudden shaking. Carolyn knew in her gut this was a bad sign.

"Everybody out, this thing's gonna blow!" She cried, but before she could turn to run she saw the crystal shake and suddenly fly up in the air. She reached with her hands and the moment she grabbed it she felt every atom in her body suddenly rushed as if moving to the speed of light. For a brief moment she saw the lab assistant from the other universe appear to be looking closely at the portal. His face then disappeared as the entire lab around her began to turn an strange glowing green tint and then fade into a a whirling mass of green with white electrical arcs dancing around in a swirling whirlpool like mass. Her body began to float as if suspended in space and she felt a strange tingling around her and then suddenly, it was as if there was no air and an extreme almost burning cold surrounded her. She could hear her teacher Dr. Lancer crying out her name which became a distant echo.

The next few seconds seemed like an eternity as she heard strange echoes of unfamiliar voices while she felt herself feeling like she was flying through the strange swirling green mass. Eventually she caught her breath as the bright light of a lab room hit her eyes, temporarily blinding her. Unable to focus she screamed as she felt herself flying at an incredible speed and then felt her body slammed into the lab tech who was looking through the portal. He looked at her and appeared frozen in terror. His hair now snow white, his eyes seemed to glow. All over his face looked like blisters or acne. As he ran off the other two students followed him after one with auburn hair helped her up.

"Where did you come from!?" Maddie, one of the students hollered looking at Carolyn who appeared to come out of nowhere as Jack ran off to try to catch up with Vlad.

"I must be dreaming." Carolyn thought as she didn't want to answer at it would've sounded crazy. She finally got her strength and decided to talk to Maddie.

"Just go help your friend, I'm okay." Carolyn answered as Maddie ran off to catch up with Jack. But Carolyn wasn't okay. Her hair had also turned white and the strange blisters began to form on her face.

She staggered out into what appeared to be a light brick colored hallway and a green poster lying on the ground reading "Ghost Portal Experiment, Room 101, All are welcome." She did a double take when she noticed the year in tiny print at the top right corner, May 1, 1984. "This can't be happening." She thought to herself. The college looked completely different from hers not even resembling the older version of the college.

"No way could I have enter another universe and then to have traveled over 20 years into the past! This must be a dream!" She thought to herself. Although she didn't want to believe it, as bizarre as it seemed it was the only explanation for what she was seeing and experiencing at the moment.

As her eyes began to further focus she noticed the student she fell into when she flew out of the portal. He was screaming down the hall with his hands covering his face. As she tried to follow him, began her own body began to itch and her face felt strange. She glanced at a glass reflection and gaped in horror when she saw herself. She had no idea her dark auburn hair was now snow white and there looked like a a severe rash all over her face. She also strangely appeared to be 20 years younger.

"What's happening to me!?" she screamed as she shook off her fear and continued following the panicked man ahead of her whose hair was also snow white. She momentarily passed out. Meanwhile Vlad managed to made it to the nurses station and bolted through the two double doors.

"Nurse! I'm Vlad Masters from the 101 lab and I need a nurse right now!" Vlad Masters screamed as a nurse gasped in horror upon looking at him. Steeling her emotions not to panic, the nurse on duty tried to calm him down as she began to dial 9-1-1.

"Just hold still and keep this compress over your face. We're going to take care of you. It's going to be OK." she reassured him.

"How is it going to be OK when I look like this!?" Vlad continued to cry out as he felt an agonizing itch and had to resist scratching his face.

Just as Vlad turned to look at the double door Jack and Maddie burst through the doors and came running to him.

"Oh my God Vlad, what did that portal do to you?!" Maddie cried as she saw him now with a white towel compress wrapped around his face.

"I-I think I've been burned by whatever shot out of that portal.." Vlad trailed off.

"V-man, we had no idea this would happen! We'll fix this, you'll see." Jack blurted out nervously. In truth he really had no idea what to do but was determined to encourage Vlad despite feeling hopeless. The college nurse walked back toward the three and was stunned when she noticed a swash of a green glowing substance on the towel Vlad was holding. She gulped down her fear as her training taught her to remain calm for the benefit of the patient. Worse still she noticed the injured students eyes having a strange almost white like glow.

"Sir, the ambulance is on its way." She said with a calmness that belied her feelings of terror at what she was seeing.

Jack looked up and his jaw dropped while looking at what appeared an identical version of Maddie except for white hair and ecto-acne on her face. She was fast approaching them and Jack blinked his eyes again in disbelief.

"Maddie, there's someone who looks just like you except injured like Vlad! I can't believe what I'm seeing! Maddie you have to see this!" Jack stared in disbelief at the sight of another Maddie who was approaching them.

Maddie was too focused on Vlad's injury to pay any attention as she sat down beside Vlad holding his shoulder to keep him from passing out, he looked back toward her and weakly said, "I wanted to tell you I had tickets for a Packers game and was going to invite you on a date...unless you are...un-unavail..." His eyes rolled up in his head and she caught him as he passed out.

"But I'm seeing Jack" she internally thought as he made the weak request, afraid to answer him truthfully. The sound of a siren could be heard in the distance as the ambulance entered the parking lot.

Meanwhile, Carolyn staggered towards the nurses station and saw the open double doors and the student identifying himself as Vlad Masters. She fought the urge to pass out in the hallway and forced herself to stay calm though every fiber in her being wanted to panic. "I truly must be in this other universe." She resigned in her thoughts.

"Did someone just do a poison-oak teleportation experiment?" Carolyn muttered weakly but no one heard her. Then remembered she had brought a dermal first aid pen with her.

"Nurse?!" Carolyn spoke weakly but again she couldn't get anyone's attention as the nurse and some onlookers was focused primarily on Vlad's injuries at the moment. As she struggled to get it out of her lab coat she internally froze. She hoped if she used the pen then maybe she would no longer appear to need medical attention. She hated seeing doctors and also desperately wanted to find this student and help him. She felt somewhat responsible believing her suddenly being pulled into this reality may have helped contribute to the accident made the injured Vlad.

"I can help him." She thought. It was a reasonable assumption although she hated guesswork. If the laws of physics in this universe were the same as everything else the dermal pen would heal and remove the impurities even if locked into the DNA of an individual...at least the pen worked where she was from. She had hoped it would work here, but she had to get to the hospital he was at and the only way to do so would be to remain injured. She bit her lip at what she would do and say next. As she saw the ambulance workers running over to nurses station with a gurney, she sped over to the nurses office and hollered. "I was injured also by the blast and need medical attention!" No sooner than she said that she noticed Vlad among others inside the door turn and look wide-eyed at her. Maddie and Jack also turned and they froze on shock at seeing what looked like another Maddie with now snow white hair and acne staring back at them.

The words Carolyn heard as she saw an ambulance worker out of her peripheral vision was Vlad's voice, "Maddie, oh no, not you too!" She internally winced as Vlad kept calling her Maddie. She reasoned this must be most likely her parallel reality doppleganger or just someone who may have resembled her. It was certainly eerie that Vladimir so closely resembled a younger version of her late husband except the white hair. It was as if she was staring at a younger version of her late husband's ghost.

As she was lifted into the ambulance next to Vlad she just avoided looking at him. It took all her strength to fight to stay conscious and seeing Vlad suffering was too much for her at the moment.

"Maddie, I'm sorry you were injured too." Vlad mumbled barely conscious.

"I'm not...uh. I'm Carolyn..." She trailed off barely able to speak. At times she wondered if she was just unconscious and that this was still all some very realistic dream. She kept squeezing her eyes shut and opening them hoping to wake up. She tried a test since in all her dreams she could eventually will herself to float. This did not happen at all although she momentarily felt unusually lighter. This wasn't like any dream she had ever had. She stole a glance over at Vlad who seemed to have his eyes shut at the moment. She couldn't handle any more questions from him or anyone, but she had to tell someone the truth about where she came from. Could she trust her secret with Vlad?

"Don't try to talk you two, just stay quiet. Help is on the way." The ambulance medic spoke to them. He had seen too many students with lab injuries lately and this was the worse case yet he had ever witnessed as both Vlad's and Carolyn's blisters became increasingly redder.

They arrived at the hospital and were carried and placed into wheelchairs. Both were headed to the ER when Carolyn became dizzy and passed out.

Carolyn was the first to open her eyes to a blur, remembering being lifted down as she drifted in and out of consciousness. When she looked around her eyes focused on the white walls and a medical monitor beeping. She noticed she was hooked up to an IV and had on a hospital gown in place of her clothes. She gasped when she realized the dermal pen was in her clothes. She looked around frantically and spotted them, groggily reaching in to find the pen. As she felt it she breathed a sign of relief and then her eyes settled on Vlad and she looked at him with tears beginning to run down her rash ridden face. Although her husband Vernon had been dead for many years it was if he was there again in the hospital room. She was temporarily delusional from exposure to the portal accident and was in a half dreaming state. Vlad's eyes opened and he noticed the troubled expressions on Carolyn's face.

"Come now Maddie, I saw myself in the mirror. I know it looks bad but its not all that bad!" Vlad said to her. She looked puzzled at him when he said 'Maddie' to her and then what she said next sounded completely strange.

"Vernon! I missed you so much! I waited for you...the doctors said...they lost you. B-baby, why is your hair so white?" She choked trying to control the soft saddened whimpers beneath her voice. Carolyn was reliving the memory of seeing her late husband before he passed away from a heart attack. She was dazed and confused.

"Madeline, it's Vladimir. How did you get hit with the portal?" he asked her softly, still believing Carolyn was Maddie.

"My name is Carolyn. Madeline is my middle name." She replied choosing her words carefully as she began to snap out of her daze and remembered the reality of where she really was. "And your name is V-Vladimir."

"Yes, and I cannot believe that you are not my Madeline." Vlad answered puzzled at the woman.

"You're not who I think you are and I'm not who you think I are." Carolyn said humorously butchering the grammar as she gave a smirk.

At that moment the EMT walked up to them. Carolyn quickly hid the pen from view and studied the intern cautiously. She had medical technology from another reality which may have been very advanced in this universe. She didn't want anyone asking too many questions and didn't feel like giving any answers at the moment.

"Alright you two, stay quiet and rest right now. I need to ask you both a few questions." Said the EMT who was a balding slightly heavy set man in his 40's. He pulled out a notepad and looked first to Vlad.

"Tell me what happened." the man spoke, his eyes narrowing to Vlad.

"Well, my supposed 'best friend' messed up and I ended up getting zapped by some green glowing blast of energy that now has caused my face and neck become a pimpled version of fried chicken! I'm going to kill him! Where is that fat oaf?!" Vlad snapped with a tenseness in his voice ranging between anger and annoyance.

"Sir, you need to calm down. Your blood pressure is going through the roof! I'm sorry that your friends are not able to be here..." The EMT responded looking concerned at the unusual readings coming from both patients and wrote down the readings and ran off to find the nurse on duty. Vlad hollered at him as he ran out the door.

"Don't call that bumbling oat Jack my friend! A friend wouldn't do this. I don't care if it was an accident, he heard Maddie warn him the calculations were off!" Vlad growled again and then he suddenly calmed as Carolyn forced herself to get up and walked over to Vlad, and lay a gentle, warm hand lay atop his arm looking at him with loving eyes.

"Ma'am, you need to go back to your bed." The EMT cautioned but Carolyn ignored him as she looked at Vlad, finally getting the courage to behold the injured student that so uncannily resembled her late husband.

"Could you get me a water please." Carolyn asked and the EMT resigned to the fact she wasn't returning to her bed decided to excuse himself and get a nurse on duty to get her a water picture.

"It's going to be OK Verno...Vlad." Carolyn said weakly while blinking her eyes still trying to comprehend who she was looking at. She took her right hand and gently reached and held his left hand in assurance. She looked around to make sure no one saw her pull out the dermal pen.

"I have a dermal pen that should heal up the rash on your face, but please don't tell anyone else. They might ask questions I cannot or should not answer." Carolyn whispered to him softly.

As Vlad looked over at her he didn't even think about the pimples on her face, only the total look of love and tenderness that were in her eyes. There was something radiant, even powerful about her. He became lost in her gaze. Still convinced it was Madeline, he didn't care anymore that he was injured, he had gotten Madeline to finally pay attention to him. Madeline, the woman he loved was giving him a deeply affectionate look. She slowly reached over with her other hand and stroked a strand of Vlad's hair hanging down over his face, unafraid of the contagious nature of the Ecto Acne. Vlad blinked his eyes and slowly smiled at her. The expression on her face was a look of 'I love you.' Her eyes danced as they glanced all over Vlad with a soft smile on her face. She leaned close to him and Vlad felt as if he was in heaven as he thought to himself that this accident was definitely working to his advantage.

Vlad's POV

I beheld the woman who looked just like Maddie look back at me and my fears seemed to vanish. And in my confusion I yet could've sworn I also saw Maddie and Jack standing outside the ambulance as the doors shut but how could this be? This Maddie that stood outside the ambulance had auburn hair and her face blemish-less. I cannot explain unless I had hallucinated her standing outside or is the woman holding my hand an hallucination? I also cannot figure out how she now how she thinks she can help us. I am not one to be on top of the latest facial treatments but the strange narrow object she calls a dermal pen looks more like something straight out of science fiction. It was long and white and had three glowing blue lights at its base. Right now I can only process that the woman over me looks like Madeline with exception to her now white hair and facial blemishes, yet she even sounds like her. Still she insists her name is Carolyn. The simplest solution would be to consider I imagined Maddie outside the ambulance and this is my Maddie. She is obviously in shock as she also insists that strange object she is holding is some kind of dermal regenerator.

What I cannot understand is why, after countless times of ignoring me at college, after the many failed "moves" I made that cannot count as a "move" unless it were successful, why now would she take such a keen interest in me. I chuckle bitterly at the thought that it would take a portal accident to get her to finally notice me. I had practically concluded that the only way I could've ever won Maddie was if Jack was out of the picture, yet here she is! When she looks at me she looks at me with a startled familiarity of someone who had seen a ghost...as if I was some lost love that she is just now seeing for the first time in ages. Perhaps the portal accident affected her worse than me. I decided to humor her calling her Carolyn.

"I need to introduce myself and you must promise what I am about to tell you cannot be repeated to anyone. Can I trust you?" Carolyn asked with tears trying to well through her eyes.

"Of course you can." I replied. I had not seen anyone so distraught. I kept wondering if the effect of the portal had somehow caused amnesia with Maddie's mind. The best thing I could do however was to be a willing audience and hear out what she had to say no matter how ludicrous.

"I-I don't belong here. I'm from the future and from an alternate universe. I don't have anyway to prove any of this and would understand if you thought I was totally crazy. The strangest part is that you look like my late husband, and all though we have just met I feel like I could share anything with you." Maddie..er I mean Carolyn as she insists she is, said with a quivering voice. So that is why she was looking at me so intently. She thinks I am the spitting image of her late husband.

"Perhaps you just think I look like your late husband because you are disoriented from the blast." I answered carefully. I didn't want to insinuate that I thought she was crazy. Maybe her unconscious mind is telling her I would be the 'perfect' husband for her. If that is the case, then maybe this accident could be a blessing in disguise.

"I wish that were the case. You have no idea how traumatic and awkward this is for me. I mean listen to how I sound. Parallel universes, time travel and you being my husband's doppleganger? I sound like I'm on some super heavy medication or something." Carolyn stated apologetically. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling as she plopped on her bed in apparent frustration.

"Listen sweetheart, if you think you sound crazy, you're probably not. Stop apologizing for it. You and I have been through a very traumatic experience. There's no telling what kind of affect that portal accident had on us." I spoke trying to comfort and calm her down. Then I noticed her eyes became wide as if some revelation came to her mind.

"Wait a minute, I filmed the experiment at my end before going through the portal. Here, let's see if it survived on my phone." She spoke with a brightened face as she madly sifted through her personal items that were on the table until she found a rectangular device that looked shiny black and nothing like the clunky jokes we had referred to as mobile phones. I saw her hit pictures on her screen and then she turned the device to me and I saw what looked like a rectangular metal chamber that suddenly showed images of myself, Maddie and Jack as if being viewed inside of a portal similar to the one that blew up in my face. A few minutes later a bright green flash appeared and then the screen appeared black. Either this was the best practical joke done with special effects or else this woman really wasn't Maddie and may be telling the truth. Seriously, could this day get any weirder than it is already?

"This is your phone?" I asked raising an eyebrow. This device looked expensive and also like it didn't even belong in this time period.

"Yes, this is my smart phone. Have these been invented in your world?" She questioned me looking curious and somewhat hopeful.

"Not to my knowledge." I replied. I always suspected that the government might have already developed such advanced tech and kept it from the public to keep the public at a disadvantage for their own manipulative purposes. How she got a hold of this I might have excused as having 'borrowed' it from someone in a governmental capacity, but then I thought on the movie clip I saw that briefly showed the three of us in the lab. How could I explain this? It seemed that her story might actually have truth in it after all.

"Could I look at your phone?" I said with a kid like curiosity. This device was truly remarkable and looked like something right out of science fiction.

"Certainly, just press your fingers on the different pictures. Each picture is a function or the name of an application that runs a program on the phone, kind of like a computer." Carolyn explained and I was stunned. I didn't remember seeing any computers that one could touch pictures on a screen and run programs with them. Possibly some super computers might be out there that did this but I wasn't aware of any. She did mention she came from the future.

I began to hit a picture with my finger. It had a strange picture that looked like a camera lens. When I clicked on it a series of images like folders with names on them appeared on the screen. At this point I was afraid of hitting something that might wreck the thing and decided to hand it back to her. I could not get over a thin the device was. I couldn't imagine seeing anything close to it. My face began to itch again but I felt the cream on my face and knew I shouldn't scratch. She looked at me with her intense violet eyes.

"Please...I know this sounds fantastic but let me use the pen on my face so you can see that it works, then will you let me use it on your face?" Carolyn begged as she slowly lifted herself off the bed and held the pen over the front of her face.

"I'll watch you use it on yourself first." I replied as I studied her making sure she was sure on her feet. I was still convinced this was my Maddie, however I knew in her delicate state it was best just to humor her and try not to argue. I blame Jack for all of it. She was in worse shape than me to have this delusion of being someone else with some super powered technology that...wait...are those blemishes disappearing!?

"See, I told you it worked." Carolyn said as her face began to be rid of blemishes one by one they began to fade away. I couldn't believe my eyes at what I was seeing. Her glowing almost colorless eyes began to return to their normal color and her hair became slightly darker gray. I had to conclude I was possibly dreaming all this but it seemed to real. It just didn't make any sense. I never knew such technology existed and I could only see this woman as the most brilliant as well as the most beautiful woman I have ever met, I just could not fathom at what I was witnessing before me. She smiled at me and handed me the dermal device but I motioned her to go ahead and use this pen on me. As she began to move it over my face I saw a light pinkish beam coming out. Next I noticed the itching and swelling feeling on my face began to immediately diminish. At this rate I would be back to college in no time, but I remained cautiously optimistic. This still could've been the most realistic dream I have ever experienced.

I glanced over at a mirror across from me and was stunned to see the blemishes quickly fading before my eyes. Additionally my body that had felt extremely nauseous now had never felt better. What on earth was going on? This stuff just doesn't happen and I am beginning to believe that this woman might very well be telling the truth despite how fantastic it seemed.

"Can I take a look at this pen?" I asked and she smiled and handed it to me. I studied the pen and I saw the name "Zia Labs" etched on the side of the pen in white letters. I never heard of this company and wondered how such an amazing tool was being kept quiet from the public.

Carolyn snapped me out of my thoughts as she motioned me quickly to give the dermal pen back as we both heard footsteps not far from our room. She quietly put the pen away in a drawer near her bed. Even with white messy hair and in a hospital gown, she was a vision of loveliness who embraced the image of the love of my life. Now I was torn. Although part of me couldn't wait to return to classes and attempt to woo Maddie, another part of me felt an even stronger urge to get to know this wondrous being who entered my life. She seemed so out of place...her facial expression showed a hint of confusion, like she didn't really belong her. But she wasn't a ghost, she wasn't Maddie and I had no explanation for any of it. In a way I am thankful the portal accident happened for if it hadn't, I would have never met this miracle woman!

"You, you saved my life!" I said to her. I saw her smile as she looked upon me and I felt her hand touch my cheek.

"I think we saved each other." She replied and then her eyes became hooded as she leaned closer to me. I smiled and then quickly gave me a light kiss on my forehead. The love of my life was kissing me! Despite all the craziness this day had wrought, as I felt her lips pressing touch briefly on my forehead, I could only wonder how this day could get any better. I felt light headed and had butterflies in my stomach as time itself seemed to slow down. The only other time I felt like this was when Stephanie and I had fallen in love. But this love was much deeper and more intense. I couldn't explain it. As I looked at her I thought I noticed her eyes seemed to be glowing...red for just a moment and then they returned to normal but I couldn't be sure. Maybe it was a trick of the light. I heard footsteps coming toward our door.

"Better get back into your bed, else the nurse might put two and two together." I whispered to her softly.

"Good idea." She mumbled as she quickly returned to her bed and laid down, though a subtle smirk remained on her face.

I noticed the nurse walk in and for the second time had a deeply distressed look on her face as she looked upon me. I imagined she was in shock. Instead of seeing me as a swollen strawberry acne pocked face she sees me with now smooth, nearly flawless skin. I saw her quickly walk away looking annoyed as she glanced out to look at the room number, as if she was double checking to see if she was in the right place. The nurse then shook her head in disbelief. Carolyn covered her face in the pillow not wanting to be noticed as also having a perfect complexion unlike earlier.

"How did you get better so fast?" the nurse questioned almost reacting like she was the victim of a prank.

"I honestly don't know." I lied. I did not want Carolyn's device to fall under scrutiny. She stated that she did not want ANYONE to know about this instrument for whatever reason and I felt it wrong to not honor her request. At this moment a million questions rang through my head. What was the reason for her keeping this a secret? Before I could think further the nurse interrupted my musings.

"Well, if you don't mind I'll need to draw some blood and then the doctor will make a decision if you can go home. How are you feeling right now?" She questioned raising a curious eyebrow.

"I feel great actually. My nausea has left and I feel my strength returning. Oh and my face doesn't even have the slightest itch." I stated with almost an air of pride having been 'cured' so quickly. She nodded as she glanced at the chart and walked off.

"Phew that was close." Carolyn said looking almost pale with concern. I had many questions but her demeanor suggested she wasn't going to answer any at the moment. I was simply relieved that I would be returning to college perhaps as soon as tomorrow. I cannot imagine what my life may have been like if had to have been stuck at this facility for an extended length of time.

"You know I was told by one doctor I may have been stuck in here for a lengthy treatment. You spared me a potentially life ruining experience." I said to Carolyn with a deep gratitude.

"This is a picture perfect moment!" Carolyn smiled as she pulled out her 'smartphone' as she calls it and began to click a picture of myself and her when she had a puzzled look on her face. Her face began to pale as she continued to look at the phone and I became deeply troubled.

"What is it?" I asked as I saw her frantically pressing different pictures on the screen. Her mouth began to tremble slightly as if she had seen a ghost.

"Some images and videos appeared on the phone that I didn't take. I don't know how they got here but they are here." Carolyn said nervously. I looked closely at the clips which played like an eerie alternate version of my life. In one clip I'm marrying Madeline, then it fast forwards to a fight in which Madeline who apparently is my wife and is throwing me into the Ghost Zone accusing me of being a "lying piece of cheese" and demanding an annulment. It was if these films was a crystal ball of "what ifs" had been played out before me. Additionally, there were clips of what looked like a science lab with the letters Wisconsin State University but looked nothing like science lab I was familiar with. This must've been where Carolyn came from.

"I have an app on my phone that lists the precise time clips are made. Some of these look like they are from a future that may no longer exist, but don't ask me how or why?" She said in a confused voice as she kept replaying the strange film clips. She shook her head and I thought on literature I had read that addressed unusual theories of alternate and changed timelines.

"Maybe when you were pulled through the portal due to the accident it somehow exposed your phone to an area of hyperspace that effected it somehow." I suggested as she returned a questioning gaze at me.

"Why would the phone record these believed alternate realties as well as the universe I just arrived from?" she questioned sounding like she wasn't fully believing what she was saying.

"In one of the more unusual theories I read in a science journal, some scientists believed there was an area of hyperspace that showed streams of alternate realities as mirror reflections before a timeline was changed or altered. The intense field may have activated your phone in some way and it took the pictures of these realities." I added as she just looked more puzzled at me.

"Clarify." She asked as she studied the images and began to rub her forehead as if staving off a headache.

"I had a teacher that explained time in the simplest way; imagine that time is a river. It general flows in one direction. Now picture time travel as jumping to another point along the river and changing it's pathway by digging a new canal out of an edge of the riverbank. It used to flow one way and once the canal is large enough the entire river can be diverted and take on a new path. The marks of the old path are there but the river has changed course. I don't know if these analogy helps but it is what I use to help me understand the concept better. As for it filming what was happening in your reality, I noticed the edges look like a closeup of the portal that blasted me. Perhaps it was capturing last moments of your universe after you fell into this one." I explained with my generally brilliant reasoning.

We studied other images of clips showing the two alternate realities. This was both a rare and a haunting opportunity (no pun intended). How often is it that one gets to see alternate paths that their life may have taken or rather had taken until those paths had been changed. It was strange seeing it all play out before us. I also felt awkward that Carolyn had seeing me getting into a fight with Madeline in one of the clips.

I had hoped that Carolyn would not think less of me seeing my misbehavior in these alternate timelines. Though they technically no longer existed, they had existed at one time and it allowed her to see my truly darker potential that made me flushed with embarrassment. In one clip I see myself in a mountain chalet with Maddie and apparently her future son. I am seen once again accusing Jack of having ruined my life, when unexpectedly Carolyn paused the footage and made a comment.

"Trials happen that can impact one's life, but never surrender that your life is ruined above repair. Just as pain is inevitable but suffering is a choice. " She replied with an intense look at me. I honestly didn't know how to respond to such sentiment. This sounded like an ironclad woman who had to face a few trials in her life. As I looked at her I dropped the phone and began to feel myself sink into the bed. It wasn't like the mattress had softened, it seemed like I was starting to sink slowly through it. I dismissed it as an hallucination until I saw myself fall through the bed onto the floor. The cold tile hit by behind with a smack and I managed to grab the bed but could've sworn my hand passed through the side railing a couple of times. How could I have missed? I then saw Carolyn reach for me while grabbing the phone off the floor and then her arm momentarily became invisible.

"What kind of medication do they have me on!?" I blurted nervously as a momentarily blinked my eyes to see if that would clear my vision. Her arm was still invisible and I concluded I wasn't hallucinating anymore as she looked at it and gave a startled gasp.

"I think that machine that you and I were exposed to has affected us somehow. I also don't think we should share this with anyone as we might end up being someones lab experiment." She cautioned as her arm finally materialized and she managed to pick me up off the floor. At this moment I was in total agreement with her. The last thing either of us needed was to be stuck in this hospital longer than needed. I never did have a lot of faith in blindly trusting doctors especially when a patient might have an unusual ability that would want them to study them further in the name of 'science'. The less anyone knew about these strange side effects that were apparently giving us superpowers, the better.

I focused on Carolyn's comment that suffering is a choice. For me, my suffering was not simply my health; I neglected to sign up for medical insurance being offered at the college. I regrettably put if off until the it was past the deadline to turn the application in, but since the accident occurred at the college, wouldn't the college be legally responsible? However, even if that is the case I am still faced with the mounting debt of my college loan. In my frustration I finally had to blurt out my thoughts.

"How am I ever going to pay off the medical bills alone at least until I can find an attorney that can prove it's the college's responsibility to pay for them? Will I have to use these new found powers to rob a bank just to keep solvent?" I asked Carolyn, not caring that my question sounded morally absent and a bit too sarcastic.

"Heaven forbid. Besides with this power I bet we could find a way to locate and extract rare gems in the ground and legally make a fortune. I used to do this a lot as a hobby before I started college. I'm sure there's someone here who has a claim and makes an offer of a fair share of the cut for digging up gem rocks that are too difficult or deep to be dug by their excavation equipment." Carolyn replied with an air of confidence that was met with my skepticism.

"How do you expect us to hide our powers?" I questioned her with reluctant skepticism.

"We'll go in and say we have special technology that we are not allowed to share. They don't have to know the technology is simply us with our powers. And with these powers there's no telling what other areas we will be able to be useful for our personal gain as well as helping others." She replied with a smirk. I smiled in agreement. This woman was sharp and apparently had thought this idea thoroughly. It was something I would've missed and probably resorted to more desperate and less legal alternatives. I didn't seem so keen on the "helping others" part at first, but something about her is starting to rub off on me. I seem to have a greater desire of concern for others that I did not use to allow myself to feel. My feelings to help others shut down when I lost two of the most important people in my life: the car accident took my father and sister from me, I felt human emotions were too painful and needed to be suppressed. I went somewhat numb over it. Carolyn had now reawakened those once buried feelings.

Several months later Vlad's POV and Flashback continued

After we were discharged from the hospital our unusual condition and miraculous healing made headlines in the local and national papers. Again I had to act like I didn't know how we had gotten better. Despite unwanted attention there were more pressing matters to attend to. Carolyn needed a place to stay and I managed to persuade Maddie and Harriet to give her a place to stay at the dorm. She also was able to get work at the college which was surprising as she didn't have even a legitimate student ID. It was as though she had a charm about her to get others to agree with her. I suspect she was using some power of persuasion that I as yet was not aware of.

I kept Carolyn's secret that she shared with me though I still couldn't fully believe it; that she somehow was pulled through the portal during the accident and then wound up in this universe. She also admits to being skeptical herself at times however considering what she and I did at the hospital it seemed to expand my horizons on what was possible in the realm of science.

Of course, my best friend Stephanie Hui called me and checked to see how I was doing. I found out her fiancée had abandoned her and I offered to help her out when I got on my feet which thanks to Carolyn, I expected would happen in no time. I still felt guilty keeping Stephanie only as a good friend when at one time my feelings for her were much deeper. But that was another lifetime for me and a painful one. If my love had been as true for Stephanie our relationship would've survived the sudden loss of my dad and sister in that fateful car accident in Florida years back. I couldn't handle the pain and felt that detaching myself from my feelings for Stephanie was my way of coping. It was cowardly but I always had attachment issues even before the loss. I'm glad I at least forced myself to remain friends with Stephanie. We just were not meant to be and had we pursued marriage, there would've been something else to drive us apart. I couldn't put either of us through that.

Reeling in to more present times, I told Carolyn I was attracted to her but didn't feel ready to commit to her yet. She understood and gave me space to work out my internal conflicts. Interestingly enough, for a time I noticed she began developing feelings for Jack, but Jack and Maddie were immovable as I would soon learn. I still felt the urge to try to win Maddie's heart but it seemed even though I recovered from the portal accident, she still wouldn't pay attention to me the same way she did Jack. I ultimately realized that winning her was futile at this point and decided to take a chance with Carolyn. I decided to take Carolyn out to dinner. Our official 'first date'. I knew she was the one that Maddie could never be. I could sense she had a genuine affection for me and I took a chance one night as a wore my heart on my sleeve during the evening as the waiter was serving us our desert.

This restaurant was a bit more elegant as we had made a significant gem find that totaled to half way to a million dollars over the course of the next several months. Additionally my medical bills and college debt had become a thing of the past so I didn't feel the least bit ashamed with being more lavish. When the softer music came on I reached towards Carolyn's hand and caressed it as I looked into her eyes and proposed to her. She smilingly accepted and we were married less than a year later at a Cathedral called "New Light" in uptown Wisconsin. Jack and Maddie were also getting ready to tie the knot but I couldn't convince them to be in a joint wedding with us. Maddie had some extra heavy assignments and wanted to get those behind her before taking the 'plunge' and had hinted it would be more in the summer when she and Jack would take a hiatus from college, get married and then after a month of rest work on their "ghost" business. Carolyn and I on the other hand couldn't wait and in early March we were married.

The wedding was small but there were a few good friends and some family that came. Stephanie was there with Annabelle. It was a bit awkward but she and I had long since moved on and I could tell she was happy for me. She was also seeing a young British gentlemen that at times bore a striking resemblance to me. The only difference was his hair was brown and short and no facial hair. I had since sported a goatee and preferred my hair tied back in an old English style ponytail. My hair was no longer white but had since turned to a light gray. I was going to ask Carolyn if the dermal pen could restore my hair color but decided against it as I found out that I was taken more seriously if I looked older and influence was and still is a big thing with me.

It wasn't long after the wedding when we first discovered new powers that enabled us to influence those around us. I suspected Carolyn had already been using these powers instinctively and was not yet fully aware of what she was doing. Soon however, we would both witness the direct effect of this power.

It happened by accident one day as I was handing in a test and one of the students decided to turn up his music so loudly it could be heard through the earphones. We had a substitute teacher, Ms. Welker teaching computer class that day and she was way too lenient about the noise. Despite requests from the students this fellow decided to keep turning up the volume. I had enough and felt a part of me literally leave as if like an out of body experience, in which I felt myself inside this student and then imagined turning the volume down myself. I just thought I was daydreaming and was startled when I was dragged out of my thoughts to actually hear the music get turned down.

Carolyn smirked at me as if she knew what had happened. My suspicions were confirmed when she smiled and said, "It's called overshadowing, I sensed you were doing it. I can do it as well, but let's keep this to ourselves." She cautioned as she made sure to keep her voice to a whisper.

So I can basically overshadow or influence people with my mind. This takes winning friends and influencing people to a whole new level but I didn't use this technique to cheat my way through school. I wanted to earn my grades fair and square. No, I instead chose to use this against the man who took my father's business away from my family and left us out in the cold. When my father passed a way, he was a wealthy man whose company and assets had been cheated from us leaving my mother and I destitute and having to leave the house that he built for us, that we grew up in. So naturally I overshadowed him to restore that which he had stolen from my Mom and me. It wasn't revenge as much as it was justice. Of course I declined to tell Carolyn about this though I am sure she suspected I had used the power. I get the feeling however that Carolyn was sympathetic based on her reaction and her knowing how much this businessman had hurt my family. In many ways Carolyn and I were a lot a like and at times her personality reminded me of my late sister Annie.

Getting ghost powers also meant becoming more obsessive especially when it came to making money. As much as I was given an honest means to make income, the temptation to overshadow businessmen to acquire assets was at times overwhelming. Part of me really didn't want to do this as I was taught that stealing was wrong and never to be ashamed of a hard days wages. I wish there was some middle ground that would not be morally wrong but could allow me to use my powers of persuasion. I enjoyed the power way too much and realize I may have been one of those who could not handle such power. I realize that having lost control of the financial security in my life due to my father's passing had affected me far more deeply than any portal lab accident.

I recalled many hypothetical morality conversations we had about the 'responsible' use of our powers. Carolyn however could sense the internal debate within me and almost seemed to be able to read my mind. Perhaps it was this ghostly power that we shared that at times allowed us to share each others thoughts in feelings if not in words.

"I know how tempting it is to try to persuade others for our own gain and I have had a lot of internal arguments about it. However, why not try using our power in a different way?" She looked at me with a smirk and I was puzzled. I raised an eyebrow and looked at her without answering, my facial expression of curiosity apparently were an open book to Carolyn.

"I know you are bored with just gem hunting and I know you have a minor in business investment. Can I suggest something? Rather than try to limit our powers and hope we don't accidentally overshadow someone while trying to persuade them, why don't we focus on what people are feeling. I'm not talking mind reading, just sensing market trends based on the feelings of people. What they like to spend and do. Then invest ahead of time in markets were we 'sense' there will be a growth. Surely a company would love to hire you if you showed an intuitive ability as well to sense market fluctuations." She spoke smoothly and with a calculating voice. She had shown an uncanny ability to do this and it must've been another power. I too could sense the feelings of others some time after the accident. Still, I had doubts about this.

"What if some outside force that affects people's buying which we didn't foresee?" I inquired.

"That's why we would invest with someone who has good experience with stable markets. And if people become too irrational over something, then we could use a 'calming' power that isn't exactly overshadowing but more of an emotional influence. In that regard I do not feel we are taking advantage of anyone or robbing anyone blind." Carolyn replied. She was studying my reaction as I gave her suggestion some deep thought. It still seemed to be a form of overshadowing, but more subtle and less direct. Again, it is hard to focus ones moral compass when overwhelmed with such power. The dos and dont's became shades of gray.

"That sounds like a plan." I said feeling cautious. I knew we were both on a slippery slope if we were not careful. These powers were difficult to manage and perhaps we were not as evolved as we would like to think to be responsible in using them. We had used them in positive ways, to secretly break up riots and in other areas of subtle crime fighting. We never made our powers public as we know that doing so would make the GIW the least of our worries as a criminal element would likely have sought revenge if they suspected we interfered with their schemes.

"I also have one extra added advantage, this Earth is not too different than my own but about 20 years in the past. It is logical to assume similar companies exist like on my planet and I may know all the winners that will have big payouts in years to come. Of course there is still some risk involved naturally." She looked at me as if to wait for me to object or be her moral compass on this. Again, we had conflicted feelings about what we were doing at times. They didn't seem outright wrong but they fell on that murky side between right and wrong.

"Do you think it's fair to have such a foreknowledge of the market?" I asked challenging her. I felt a tad bit guilty and needed her to be my moral compass on this.

"There is nothing in the law that forbids someone from using mental powers or time travel to help them with investments. Of course, no one knows that at least in my case, I've done a little of both." She chuckled. "Besides, we can use some of our investment to help out others in need. I'm just about as in the dark as you are but who can really help us? We can't tell anyone about our powers, we just have to use them as wisely and fairly as possible." She added rubbing the back of her neck.

We began small investments through a reputable investment firm that she trusted and began using our sensing powers to give suggestions to the investors. When they realized how often we were right, I eventually signed on to a part time position that still allowed me to continue my studies in college while learning the steps to becoming a financial advisor. At times I felt the desire to own and manage companies seemed even stronger than my longterm goal in nanotech and biochemistry. Originally I wanted to create the best cheeses with the top shelf lives to sell on the market. I was the successor to the Dairy King. There must be a way to have the best of both worlds. I thought the simple solution would be to have a sizable investment in diary products. I had considered the risks which held me back. It was then I realized I could potentially use my powers to scan various cheeses and dairy products for flavor and freshness that even our most advanced computers could not even catch. I tested and trained myself to use my powers to field numerous quantities of cheeses and milks. I became very skilled at it and had enabled myself to become a human computer/sensor of sorts. I again kept quiet about it attributing my ability to a good sense of smell and visual deduction. Carolyn continued more along the lines of investments and soon we were on our way to much more financial gain than either of us had imagined.

I worked my way to CEO with several companies. No direct overshadowing. Carolyn preferred not to own any companies and just stick with investment strategies. I eventually bought out interest in a company that was called Steels and Company. I changed it to Vladco and began to steer the company to a much more profitable outcome. I also purchased a company named Allensoft and changed it to Mastersoft. The list of companies became many. Carolyn warned me not to own too many companies and to calm my ambitions. It was very hard to do this. My dad had instilled a very competitive spirit, but I inevitably heeded Carolyn's advice and was glad I had done so.

Sometimes I liked to dress in my diary man ranch style outfit, and forget I was the CEO of numerous companies. I continued my college as well and managed to continue my studies getting straight A's, an effect of needing less sleep possibly due to our ghost powers. At times for the longest while I could still taste diet soda in my mouth and Carolyn wondered if the soda had somehow fused with us as well as the ectoplasm on the atomic level and made us much more energetic than normal people. My staying up late however still manifested in getting darker circles under my eyes, but I loved the new found energy I had.

The lab accident had another odd affect on us. It happened long before we even planned to get married. It was our transformation from human to ghost form. It didn't happen for us both at the same time and Carolyn at first did not recognize me when I changed. I was doing one of my quests, this one for the Infini-map. Carolyn in her ghost form looked similar to me but neither of us knew who we were and she fought me.

"Plasmius! I know you think you deserve this map but it's still stealing!" She looked at me and I smirked at her.

"So you are going to be like Danny Phantom? The ghost kid that uses his powers for good?" I said in a sarcastic voice. Then Carolyn Plasmius as she called herself did something quite unexpected.

"I don't want to fight you." She said in an unusually calm voice.

"No, you don't." I spat back at the woman and tried to zap her though I truly only wished to stun her and not hurt her. I had no idea I was fighting the love of my life at the time but I think she must've recognized me first probably by my voice. She cleverly dodged all my attacks and also never truly tried to hurt me, only stun me as well. She seemed to actually be enjoying herself. Then she popped the question.

Can we settle this over a candle light dinner?" She said with a flirtatious smirk. She appeared to be very attracted to me and I was to her. So we played this game of wits where we would fight and then we would have dates so to speak.

In this game of sorts, I still had my 'naughty' moments and was often trying to steal the Infini-map. She defended it needed to go back to the Far Frozen. I tried to convince her it was a 'treasure' that should not to be owned by any one person, save myself of course. She decided a compromise of photocopying the Infini-map would satisfy my curiosity without stealing the map. Yes I was rather villainous in my early days. But during a fight we had, instead of continuing to zap each other we began to kiss each other. Eventually we revealed ourselves to each other. It only intensified our feelings for each other.

Later as we became more serious I tried to do better and even helped the town by doing some 'heroic' stuff like rescuing a group of people from a run away train that almost crashed into Lake Eerie. Despite feeling a bit like I was being taken advantage of as the town always seemed to expect us to come to the rescue, I truly wanted to be able to help rescue people. But often a part of me wanted to see what benefit I would get out of it. This was I found out later classic narcissism. Carolyn encouraged me to get therapy to try to overcome this personality trait I developed. She was quite supportive. I was still far from perfect, but together we helped each other. Carolyn understood some of my symptoms and she had her own cocktail of bipolar disorder she had been diagnosed with that at times mirrored my narcissism. But she and I continued to help and love each other. Helping us to understand and be patient with each other is what true love is about after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Present Day - Danny's 'stay' at the castle

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Checkmate, or Endgame.

**Klaatu: Finally finished chapter 2 and more are on the way. Now to bring all you up to speed with this chapter. in an effort to help Danny with his grades and prepare for his astronaut program, Danny has grudgingly stayed at Vlad's in an agreement with his family and his teacher Mr. Lancer. He is excited when he learns that Vlad is moving to Amity Park as mayor and looks forward to longer visits with his family.**

**Although Vlad is not as much of a fruit-loop, he still has his antagonizing fruit-loop moments treading the line between villain and anti-hero and occasional hero. At times they both grate on each others' nerves but Carolyn helps keep the peace, at least to a degree. He forbids Danny to do any ghost fighting until he can bring up and maintain his grades. Danny agreed to postpone ghost fighting and instead be tutored in his ghost powers providing that Vlad and his family share the burden to fight the ghosts in Amity.**

**In this new timeline, Vladimir and Carolyn have a son who is the same age and nearly a doppleganger to Danny whose name is Nathanial Masters. He also has Ecto powers like Danny but is a hot core half-ghost like his father. He and Danny like to test each other and both love to outdo the other in battle simulations. Nathanial is a bit more bratty than Danny and doesn't buy into the chronic hero syndrome of Danny but does try and help fight ghosts though not to the extreme that Danny does. He is also a bit more selfish and narcissistic like his father at times but realizes his flaws and tries to improve his ways.**

**Carolyn has the kept the knowledge of her and Vlad's ghost abilities limited to Danny and Nathanial, however she did share with the Fentons of her being from another reality and urged they did not share this with anyone. Danny was allowed to share Carolyn's origins to his immediate friends but that was all. **

**Despite some tensions, Danny enjoys training with Vlad and develops a closer bond despite friction from time to time. Carolyn also takes turns at times in training Danny and sometimes she and Vlad spar over best methods of training. The family as a whole is very competitive trying to outdo each other at times which at times drives Danny up the wall but the competitive spirit is in good family fun despite disagreements about the best ways to fight ghosts.**

**This chapter begins with an alternate version of the Danny Phantom episode "Torrent of Terror". Vlad and Carolyn are in an argument after Carolyn discovers Vlad was trying to control the storm ghost Vortex. Amity was in the throes of a drought and now is suffering from a major rain deluge thanks to actions by Vortex. Enjoy the story and please review.**

General POV

Carolyn spotted Vlad out at the back porch of his mayor mansion shivering as he was nearly soaked. He appeared to be talking to what looked like nothing more than some dark cumulonimbus clouds. She did not yet see the strange green spinning column of air that made up the form of Vortex that had just darted behind the towering cloud-bank. The wind began to pick up and she had to steady her balance as she held a newspaper over her head as raindrops were almost blowing horizontally. She steadied herself and managed to tap him on the shoulder.

"You talk to storms now? I didn't know they could vote." Carolyn asked trying to suppress a chuckle.

Vlad looked at her nervously and then back at the sky then pulled out what looked like an unusually large thermometer with a strange circular shape at the top. He tried smoothing his soaked hair back as he gulped knowing he was about to get an earful when he explained himself. He had learned the hard way he can't keep anything from Carolyn.

"The latest anomalies in the weather are in part my fault. A little deal with a weather ghost I was in alliance with has backfired." Vlad confessed with an note of embarrassment in his voice.

"You did what?! I thought you promised you wouldn't do any business in the Ghost Zone without first running it by me!" She spat clearly hurt that she had once again been left out of the loop. Her anger echoed further as striped rings of white washed over her as she transformed into Carolyn Plasmius. She looked a lot like Vlad Plasmius except her black hair curved to more normal waves that became more subtle points on either side of her head. Her outfit was more like a dress with leotards giving a more feminine touch to her outfit. Her eyes were glowing an extra bright red as she was fuming at him.

"Don't worry honey, I'll handle it." Vlad replied as he tried to placate her while he also transformed into Vlad Plasmius. Carolyn wasn't having it.

"I think you handled it enough! What were you thinking? And how do you think Danny will feel when he finds out?" She exclaimed. She knew that waters between the two hybrids were rough enough not to mention the family feuds that occurred between Nathan and his father.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. I know I should've talked with you about this. It's just I feel there are some things I have to do myself." Vlad floated over to her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

"OK, but right now we need to focus on how to fix this. What's the name of the ghost causing the problems." Carolyn managed to calm herself. She hated when she and Vlad got into arguments. It didn't happen very often but when it did sometimes it would go on for days at a time. Most of the fights centered around Vlad's methods of doing things which at times was manipulative and sneaky. When Vlad wanted something he would stop at almost nothing to get it. Carolyn on the other hand was able to address his obsessive nature and generally able to persuade him to be honest and open but it was at times an uphill battle. She couldn't be sure how much was Vlad's own nature and how much was an after effect of how he had obtained his ghost powers. She did know however if she let Vlad explain himself and see how he would try to fix his mistake, it helped eased tensions between them.

"The ghosts' name is Vortex. I freed him from the Observant High Council as he was on trial for endangering the Earth with his manipulation of the weather. I thought I could use him to end the drought we were having here in Amity Park but he felt I was cramping his style so to speak." Vlad lowered his head. He felt like a kid who had been caught with a forbidden pet who just knocked over all the expensive china. At times Carolyn saw that Vlad despite being an intelligent experienced businessman could also act a bit childish from time to time.

"You know as well as I the dangers of trying to use unknown spirit entities. You don't even know what Vortex might actually be. He could be an inter dimensional alien that decided to mess with this planets weather. In any case he sounds mentally unstable and the fact he's committed crimes against weather, I wouldn't trust him and neither should you." Carolyn cautioned and then looked at the device Vlad was holding.

"This is the Spectral Barometer that I was using to control him. It stopped working." Vlad said matter of factly as lightening flashed behind them followed by a roar of thunder.

"Here let me see it...please." Carolyn held out her hand and Vlad reluctantly handed it to her. She muttered 'men and their toys' as she shook the device and unscrewed the bottom. Two double A batteries fell out. She studied them and noticed they were rechargeable. She smirked as she held them in the palm of her right hand.

"I can try recharging these on the fly and let's see if we can get this barometer up and running." She said as she quickly put up a shield around the batteries, uncertain if the batteries might explode as she had never tried using her powers to charge batteries before. Her hand began to glow with a pink swirl and she looked at a nearby wall clock. When five minutes passed she placed the batteries back in and the needle began to waver indicating it was receiving power.

"OK, try it now." She said as she handed the barometer back to Vlad.

"Stop the rainstorm!" He commanded as he aimed the barometer at Vortex just as the ghost was moving into view outside the cloud. Vortex was ignoring him so Vlad shot a mild zap just enough to get Vortex's attention. Reluctantly Vortex moved his hands and the clouds began to move away and dissipate as he flew up high into the stratosphere.

"Don't bother chasing him. He'll most likely come back soon enough and then we can do a series of small zaps to weaken him enough to suck him in the thermos." Carolyn sighed while then Vlad arched an eyebrow at her.

"Don't you have the thermos?" He asked.

"It's with Danny and guess who gets to explain to him why it's needed." She said with a teasing smile.

"Oh butter biscuits!" Vlad replied and then Carolyn put her arms around him.

"You know, most couples have arguments about the family budget or who does the shopping. We have arguments about dealing with spectral entities or the best way to charge up and create energy orbs. We are quite the pair." She commented laughingly.

"Yes we are. I never imagined in all the time I was working with Jack and Maddie I would end up with the ability to have eyes that glow in the dark, fly on my own power and shoot rays out of my hands. Not something you would really want to put on an application." Vlad commented with a bit of a chuckle.

"Not unless we want to work for a circus or are doing a magic act. However that still doesn't excuse your misguided ambitions getting the better of you...again." She spoke giving a stern look at Vlad with emphasis on the word 'again.' Vlad looked down at the ground with his eyes narrowed.

"I just wanted Amity to get out of a drought. I thought I could control the weather demon until he shorted out and drained the barometer's power. I guess I underestimated him." He lamented.

"Remember what we learned in couples therapy last week? Just because we can do something doesn't always mean we should do it. Just because Amity Park is having a drought does not justify trying to use an unstable technology or in this case, an unstable being able to manipulate weather." Carolyn looked at Vlad and waited for a response.

"I had everything under control. I simply made a miscalculation that can be remedied when I make a more resistant shielded version of the barometer." Vlad defended with an unusually calm demeanor.

"And that's the problem! You are so hung up with perfecting your strategies you fail to see the bigger picture. Ask yourself is it right or ethical to attempt to manipulate this being? What does he get in return for his services for instance?" Carolyn shook her head in disbelief at how she sounded in the last statement, as if someone talking about a business transaction.

"He was imprisoned for weather crimes, he didn't DESERVE payment for services!" Vlad protested.

"So then you're advocating slave labor...wait you said weather crimes? And you are trying to control him?!" Carolyn no longer could put the lid on her emotions as she raised her voice in disbelief.

"OK, I can't argue with you if this debate is being reduced to a yelling match." Vlad crossed his arms and is eyes glowed a brighter red. Wind began to pick up and a branch began to grate against the back porch.

"It's not a yelling match and you need to get your priorities straight!" Carolyn retorted as her hair began to dishevel being dampen from streaks of rain. Her cape began to ripple in the wind and she felt herself being pushed back by the wind as she hovered eye to eye with Vlad who also had already transformed into Plasmius. Instinctively she put a shield up around them both to keep the wind from tossing them to and fro. During a sudden gust of wind the back porch doors flew wide open and a branch broke and skimmed a wall clock knocking it down.

"It's 5:04 already? I'm missing Real Housewives of Dairy County!" Carolyn complained as she picked up the clock wiping off debris from its face.

"We're facing a storm monster, you're complaining about a show you're missing and you're talking to me about priorities?" Vlad hollered in disbelief as his voice was being drowned out by the wind. Carolyn just glared back at him refusing to argue anymore. Vlad sighed as he looked back over to the storm as it continued to worsen.

"You know this reminds me of the time when you decided to repaint the castle...without talking to me first. You took your...our beautiful castle and you painted the cone roof tops mustard yellow. Mustard yellow! Yecch! And then in the name of Packers fandom you vandalized the ballroom with green and gold Packers colors and designs. Our castle home looks more like some crazy restaurant/video game resort." Carolyn complained trying to pull back her now soggy hair.

"Your point?" Vlad replied tersely as he wiped some raindrops from his face.

"My point is that you should talk to me first BEFORE just doing things! And I still want at least the outside coned roofs back to their original color." Carolyn spoke as she eyed Vlad with a determined look. Vlad loved the Packers to an insane degree and refused to believe Carolyn's theory that the ghost powers made him extra obsessive. Carolyn begged to differ.

"I like painting the roof cones, and it's yellowish gold not mustard!" Vlad defended. Carolyn raised her eyes to the sky and shook her head.

"This is probably not the best time to get into the argument about the redecorating the castle since we have a power hungry ghost trying to destroy Amity Park using the weather! Can we please just resolve this?" She begged as she looked at Vlad. Her pupiless eyes turned from red to yellow. Much like a mood stone, her eyes color reflected her mood and yellow was the color of frustration. Vlad looked saddened as he truly did not ever wish to upset her. He began to realize she was correct about the ghost powers making him more impulsive and obsessive. Ghosts were naturally believed to be obsessive, so it was reasonable to assume that having ghost energy might affect his psyche.

"I'll go get Daniel." he responded with resignation. He knew his wife was right and it was foolhardy of him to try to use Vortex. He didn't mention to her that he broke him out of custody of the Observants and prayed he wouldn't have to explain to her later. As he prepared to teleport to the training room where Danny and Nathanial were doing some friendly sparring with each other, Carolyn raised her hand to his shoulder.

"Let me talk to him first." She said as Vlad looked at her raising a questioning eyebrow. He didn't reply, simply nodding as she then teleported in a puff of smoke.

Carolyn's POV

It's difficult making sure my hubby stays out of trouble. Honestly sometimes Vladimir is like a big kid and gets into stuff way over his head. Having these ghost powers is not for the irresponsible. Unfortunately my husband has gotten a little bit power mad at times which leaves me the burden of half-ghost intervention. Of course, I too find these powers quite tempting, but Vlad takes it to a whole new level trying to use 'questionable methods' to acquire items in the Ghost Zone. His argument is that he needs the leverage so the evil ghosts wont take advantage of him and to a degree this makes sense except that he is often outright stealing an artifact that should be left alone. I think his Dad raising him to be an opportunist is partially what drives him. Now I am faced with having to ask Danny for help...again.

Why couldn't Vlad had simply have listened to the therapist? He was doing so well this month but Vlad and myself had some major character weaknesses. For me it was mostly my temper and for Vlad it was conquering things combined with his temper. Vlad and I attend therapy to help us better cope with these powers. The therapist says that sometimes Vlad needs to prove himself and that this is a coping mechanism more due to his raising than because of the portal accident. Vlad can never see himself as vulnerable and weak. His father always stressed that Masters are masters of their destiny. His attitudes were worsened by the survivor guilt from the trauma he suffered through the loss of his dad and sister in the car accident in Florida.

Fortunately, I have a more of a personality where I simply try to balance a careful moderation between helping fight ghosts and using my powers legally to help bring bread on the table. When I reflect on my balance of powers I think of Danny. Poor Danny seems to suffer from something called 'chronic hero complex.' It maybe he feels partially responsible to fight ghosts since it was his dad who accidentally kept opening the portal ghost door letting ghosts into Amity. I've tried encouraging Danny from overdoing ghost fighting so he can focus on studies and training. Of course, seeing as hubby created the current problem with Vortex, it just this only makes it that much more embarrassing to have to face Danny.

I decided to teleport just outside the training room. As I peek in I see Danny and Nathanial really get along quite well. They look like twin brothers except for Nathanial's chin and Nathanial's hair which is a dark gray that he gets from his father. Now I had to break up their fun and tell them Vladimir is needing help with a problem ghost. I leaned to the speaker at the front next the door and pressed the button

"Danny? Can I speak with you alone for a moment?" I asked through the intercom. I dreaded what I was about to tell him.

"Sure Auntie Carolyn." Danny said 'later' to Nathanial and came out of the training room. Well, that seemed easy enough.

"Danny, we have a situation that's hubby's fault again but before you say anything let me explain some things." I offered knowing that I was about to get an earful from Danny judging by the look on his face and his eyes glowing an even brighter green.

"What did Vlad do this time?" Danny spat showing his angry eyes. I knew he wad been more than fed up with Vlad's indiscretions. He wasn't alone in this sentiment.

"He unleashed a weather monster he was trying to use to end the drought in Amity Park. His barometer to control the beast keeps shorting out and although this being Vortex, the monster is out of control. But first I need to know if you are done with your homework. Nathan can help if you're not." I said in a matter of fact tone of voice. There was no way I could sugar coat this. Vlad messed up big time but I would have Nathaniel fight the creature as we promised Danny to take up the mantle while he caught up on his grades.

"I'm all caught up on my studies, but let Plasmius know he owes me one." Danny miffed and immediately flew to the back porch. Vlad was conveniently out of sight at the moment. I flew with him and asked him if he had any ideas to fight this creature. I had suggested hitting small zaps to wear it down but he is pretty sharp when it comes to dealing with ghosts. Maybe being transformed at a younger age gives him an advantage of a fresh young mind.

"I think we can best tackle Vortex if we his ability against him. I read about him and he likes to be a weather show off." Danny explained.

"What do you mean?" I asked Danny agreeing he had the best plan.

"Just keep him distracted throwing small charges at him but nothing big so he can throw it back at you. Also keep telling him his powers are weak. The angrier he gets, the more vulnerable his energy will be." Danny replied.

We both flew up to the ghost and I began to throw small zaps at him which successfully distracted him away from Danny.

"You dare to hit me, Vortex with your pathetic little sparks. Your zaps are barely even noticed." Vortex replied in his horribly arrogant high pitched voice.

"You're just a big bag of wind that needs to be put in his place!" I retorted. One thing I learned hanging around Vlad was coming up with witty banter. I certainly heard enough of it when he and Danny got into arguments which was unfortunately all too often.

"You dare to insult me?! The great Vortex? You are even less than nothing and I can fling you across the heavens like a fleck of dust!" Vortex snapped as he prepared to blow a gust directly at me. Danny threw a shield up around me and I saw trees uproot around me as the mansion behind me shook like in an earthquake.

"I thought you could make the wind at least strong enough to blow me away!" I shouted. Inwardly I was terrified but Vortex didn't know I had a shield around me. He became frustrated and then I saw his form fluctuating. If I could break his confidence it would weaken his power according to Danny's theory.

"I don't understand. You should be half way across Amity by now! What's wrong with my powers?! " Vortex cried out in anger. I just kept laughing at him to frustrate him further. At the moment he was weakened enough I heard a beep on the thermos meaning it was powerful enough to suck him in.

"What is this?" He cried as he looked over in horror to see Danny aiming the thermos out him. Before Vortex could throw another bout of wind, rain and lightening anyone's way, Danny pressed a green button on the thermos and sucked the ghost monster in with a look of shock on the monster's face as he was being pulled into his small prison. In a moment, the clouds cleared up and the sun came out. Vortex had beens successfully defeated.

"Awesome! You did it Danny!" I exclaimed as I flew down transforming back into my human self. Danny was still visibly upset and I knew what was coming.

"Vlad can't just solve problems using ghosts to fix things! Where is he!?" Danny scoffed as he tapped his index finger on the thermos. I could see this would not end well and I tried to talk with him before he went to Vlad.

"Remember when I said I needed to explain some things? Well, Vladimir has issues with being overly ambitious because of the way his dad raised him. I know it's no excuse for messing up but I already scolded him for it." I offered trying to placate Danny's obvious anger.

"He still needs to learn you can't use supernatural entities or artifacts just because they have powers. The ends never justify the means." Danny said trying to contain his anger. I tried to diffuse the situation by reminding Danny of similar mistakes he had made as well.

"Like when you stole the Fright Knight's sword so you could get an 'A' for the spookiest haunted house?" I reminded him. Yeah, I so totally had to play that card. Danny looked deflated after my comment. I knew that Vladimir would have brought it up with him anyway. If anything Vlad was too clever in trying to point out weaknesses in their arguments.

"Danny, you have a right to be angry. Vlad gets on my nerves too when he pulls this stuff, but try to keep the emotions in control." I suggested. This was a unique strategy that I think would be more productive in the long run. How many times had he wished his parents could have been less emotional at times and had given him a chance to explain himself.

"OK, but I can't promise I wont sound the least little bit angry." He warned as he saw Vlad coming out of his study. I decided it best to fly off and let the two work it out. At least Vlad was not above admitting mistakes. Hopefully this could all be resolved and maybe Vlad would learn from this. At least I could hope.

Danny's POV

I so would've preferred to be training right now rather than talking with Vlad. I had managed to get better at my ghost fighting since staying and training with Vlad, Carolyn and Nathan. Vlad at times could be full blow villain. Some people just can't handle having a lot of powers. At least he took my advice to try therapy.

"I captured Vortex after you lost control of him." I said just staring at Vlad with a blank expression. I knew that outright accusing Vlad of messing up would've resulted in a verbal fight. Instead I gave him the chance to come clean about everything hoping he would do just that.

"I'm sorry little Badger, I was trying to solve the drought crisis here in Amity Park the best way I knew how. Stealing Vortex from the Observants custody was not the smartest move for me. He should be returned to them." Vlad spoke with a little hoarseness in his voice. This wasn't as forthright as a direct apology but he was repentant in his tone. For Vlad, this was a milestone accomplishment.

"I'm glad you agree with me on this. I suppose I should return him since the Observants are undoubtedly mad at you about stealing him in the first place." I offered being way more controlling of my anger than Vlad deserved.

"The Observants do not know that Vlad Plasmius and Vlad Masters are one in the same. I can go as Vlad Masters and put on a special Ecto suit made for the Ghost Zone and simply state that Danny Phantom captured the ghost and I am a mere messenger, returning Vortex to their custody." Vlad replied and I was rather shocked at what I heard. Although Vlad wasn't turning himself in to them, at least he was willing to take the creature back to the Ghost Zone. This was a definite improvement for him. I handed the Fenton Thermos over to him and he took it and looked up at me with a small grin.

"Apologizing on Plasmius's behalf wouldn't hurt either." Danny added.

"Oh and Daniel... thanks." Vlad said as he walked over to his lab to put on an Ecto suit. It was strange as I almost felt like I was taking on a parental role as I was the admonishing Vlad. I never thought I would learn some of my best parenting skills from spending time with Vlad. The fact we didn't argue this time and he accepted responsibility was almost too good to be true. However I knew this was an exception to the rule and not the norm. As our history together has shown, although he seems to listen to Auntie Carolyn ...at times...he still has a tendency to think about what's in it for him more than not.

Half hour later

"You back already?" I said with a smirk. Vlad's returned seemed a bit too quick for my liking. I had to ask him how he got out of the Observants' council so quickly and seemingly easily. Vlad gave me his usual creepy smile and dusted off his cape.

"It was nothing Daniel. As you may have realized by now I am very proficient in negotiations being the head of multiple companies. One must learn to think on their feet." Vlad replied with a hint of arrogance in his voice. I expected he would bring up some insane suggestion right about now as he usually does, regarding I join him in one of his 'expeditions' to the Ghost Zone. I decided to beat him to the punch with one of my usual accusations.

"Does Carolyn know you stole Vortex from the Observants?" I asked not really sure but certain enough he had done just that.

"Stolen is such a harsh word Daniel, I prefer 'borrowed'." Vlad smirked not hardly batting an eyelash. He was real smooth in his arguments but he wasn't fooling me.

"C'mon Plasmius, you know you have to come clean with Carolyn." I retorted. How could he think she wouldn't figure out what went down. She was as sharp as my Mom, heck she practically was my Mom in every sense which was also a bit creepy. I asked her once how she could fall in love with a fruitloop. She replied she herself was a bit of a fruitloop with obsessive compulsive disorder but had learned to overcome it. She added this experience helped her also in dealing with her late husband Vernon was a fruitloop so she knew what to expect. Carolyn explained in detail how she was able to convince Vernon when he made questionable or impulsive decisions...eventually. That still didn't mean Vlad was capable or willing to do the same.

"What will you do when she figures it out?" I replied. I knew where this might be going but decided to throw the challenge question for Plasmius to think about.

"What makes you think she hasn't already? Little Badger, Carolyn knows I have faults but she loves and forgives me and we try to help each other overcome our more impulsive sides. And I know now that I shouldn't have tried to capture and control Vortex in retrospect. But don't think for a minute that she might have also considered at one point doing the same." Vlad responded with the eloquence of a high paid lawyer. Oh no, he didn't just go there and now I see Carolyn walking towards us. The timing was uncanny.

"Stop using Aunt Carolyn to get off the hook Plasmius." I retorted just out of earshot of Auntie Carolyn. She floated up with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

"You two fighting already? Carolyn asked. Yeah, like what else is new.

Danny, Nathanial paged me on the intercom. He wants to do a rematch with you in the training room." Carolyn asked me and glanced over to Plasmius. Her facial expression a combination smirk and a bit mischievous as she walked over and grabbed Plasmius' arm, practically hugging him. It was weird and awkward seeing her hug him as she looks just like mom. I would never get used to this and so could not unsee it.

"Daniel is upset as I did a jailbreak in getting Vortex from the Observants. How was I to know the charges against Vortex were legitimate? I just wanted the drought to end." Vlad complained and used his little pouty blue eyed boy look on her. I felt a bit nauseous at the sight of it. Thankfully Carolyn wasn't fooled.

"Yeah and I should be more upset with you but I am proud that you fessed up without me having to call you out. And I know a way you can more than make it up to me." Carolyn said softly playing with his bolo tie. This was getting to be uncomfortable grownup stuff and I just had to break the thought and get out as fast as possible. She leaned up to his ear and I gulped.

"You can do the dishes tonight." Carolyn whispered to Vlad giving him a light peck on the cheek. Well that was unexpected and kind of funny. Vlad's facial demeanor changed to disappointment as I fought a chuckle.

"Well Mo- I mean Aunt Carolyn, I'll head down to the training room so I'll see you all later." I can't believe I almost called her Mom! This was the umpteenth time that I have messed up like that. Plasmius smirked catching my little fop-ah. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

I went ghost and flew like a bat out of an inferno to get to the training room. I knew I should've simply teleported but I wasn't that confident with the skill yet and I enjoyed feeling the breeze against me even if I was inside the castle. On my way there I noticed a strange shadow swirl past me. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me as my ghost sense didn't go off, but it was just plain weird. I stopped momentarily and squinted my eyes as I approached a darker part of the hallway. There was no movement so I decided to say something.

"Is anybody there?" I asked looking around trying to spot any movement. My supersensitive hearing didn't pick up any unusual sounds and I was about to chalk it off as my eyes playing tricks with me when I saw the flitting shadow again. This time it was more pronounced but still semi transparent as it flew into the darkness and vanished. I noticed what looked like two, or maybe three silvery like eyes without pupils that appeared to look at me briefly. There was definitely something there but what? And it acted like a ghost, but why didn't my ghost senses even once go off?

Against my better judgment I veered down one of the unlit halls. I wasn't about to back down from a fight, but did it really want a fight at all? I know Carolyn taught me that just because something appears to be ghost doesn't make it automatically evil. Whatever it was, it was acting quite suspicious. Or maybe it was just being...timid? Just then I spotted what appeared to be an eerie green glow in the middle of the hallway. This glow was like the glow that I saw in the Ghost Portal when it was first activated. As painful and frightening as that event was that changed me into half-ghost, I still was almost hypnotized at the strange eerie green glow and dancing arches that seemed to flicker. But what could be causing the glow I was seeing right now? Was a natural portal to the Ghost Zone opening up?

As quickly as the green glow appeared it suddenly vanished. I was shaken out of my thoughts as I heard Nathan come up the hallway towards me.

"Hey Danny, um..what's up?" Nathan asked still transformed in ghost mode. Nathan looked like a mirror image of me except his chin was slightly narrower like his father. His jumpsuit also turned black and a white letter N emblem was on the front of his suit. We almost could've passed for twin brothers.

"I just saw the strangest thing but my ghost senses didn't pick anything up. Did you sense anything?" I asked hoping that Nathan might have picked up something unusual.

"No I didn't. If you saw an unusual image but sensed nothing it makes me wonder if it might be the holograph computer acting up." Nathan replied scratching his chin. He looked around the hallway as if something momentarily caught his eye, but then he just blinked and shook it off.

"It makes sense. Let's go to the main control room. Say, do you think we should tell your Dad?" I asked. I knew Nathan was pretty sharp in computer programming and trouble shooting, but I didn't want to risk getting Plasmius upset in case he wanted to be in the know about the weird sighting. Nathan seemed unconcerned so I trusted him on this.

"Naw, I don't want to get my dad involved unless it's absolutely unsolvable. Otherwise we risk an hour long speech of why I didn't practice the troubleshooting protocols that he trained me for. Believe me, when my dad does one of his speeches, it seems painfully longer than just an hour." Nathan replied as he pulled out his smart phone and began to type remotely to analyze the holographic computer systems. I also had a phone given to me when I agreed to stay with Vlad. It was one of the upsides to agreeing to stay with Vlad for a while that made it less awkward for me. I still think he has a weird obsession about wanting me to be his other son. He didn't say anything but I could tell from the clinginess that he wished it. I almost did look like family as being practically Nathan's twin.

As we entered the control room Nathan typed in some command lines and I saw numerous images playing on the computer screen. Immediately a holo-projection that looked like Carolyn popped up but didn't say anything. Nathan was viewing it in analytical mode so it was not interacting and just stood motionless with a smile. The only difference between his mom and mine was the fact Carolyn's hair was darker auburn. I still couldn't help wondering why did fruitloop make a holo program out of her. I mean, it wasn't like he was lonely.

"Do you mind me asking why did your dad make a holo image out of your mom?" I managed to spurt out. I had hoped I wasn't treading on some sensitive subject matter and held my breath.

"It's quite funny actually. When I was little and he needed my mom to help him with some calculations I was wanting my mom's attention almost constantly, so in desperation he designed a hologram that looked and sounded like her. The program had me fooled when I was little. She looked solid and could even touch. It worked for a while until she glitched and her body phased out for a moment." He laughed as he typed with what seemed like lightening speed on the console. I was amazed how he could type so fast while talking to me at the same time. As I was about to respond with one of my quips his face perked up.

"This is weird. It seems as if what you saw in the hallway was a holo-projection. Someone or something had accessed the holo controls in this room." Nathan mused as he continued to look puzzled and shook his head.

"Well why would it go to the trouble to just create an image instead of just appearing themselves like ghosts normally do. That didn't make any sense." I looked at him as he then picked up his phone and scrolled his finger across the phone screen. His eyes squinted as he then got a puzzled look on his face. I walked over to see what he was looking at and all the icons on the phone went black and two strange red eyes appeared on the screen. The next second the phone flew out of Nathans' hand as if some unseen force had literally swatted it out of his hand. The room suddenly had a cold chill and I looked around and prepared myself in attack mode for whatever was going to come out of the woodwork.

Out of the shadows I saw that spooky dark blob form again only this time what looked like six arms, three on each side of it's fish shaped body come out with three claw like fingers on each arm. The eyes flashed back and forth from silver to gold. I had enough and began to fire some ecto blasts at the thing.

Each time I fired, it looked like the blast went straight through the image and it disappeared and reappeared in another area of the hallway. The creature then flew up through the ceiling and made a horrible screeching noise that was so painful I had to cover my ears. I couldn't focus on what Nathan was doing except I saw what looked like pink ecto energy shooting out of his hands. He had a hot core like his dad but his knew how to control the temperature of his shots so they never harmed any walls. As the screeching stopped the lights flickered momentarily and then everything went black.

"Now what happened?" I spoke in a darkness that was so thick you could almost feel it. I heard a door shut down the hall which I was guessing was Vlad.

"We need to get dad. Wait, I think he's coming." Nathan replied somberly. Judging by the footsteps I recognized it was Vlad stumbling up the hallway.

"Daniel! Nathanial! What happened!? Oh fudge buckets!" A crash of broken pottery echoed followed by Vlad's voice that cut through the darkness as he appeared to slightly stumble having knocked over a plant vase. The next moment I heard the kicking sound of the emergency backup generator turn on and some reddish hue lights lit up the halls giving an eerie dark red appearance.

"Oh great, now the power comes on." Vlad muttered as he scooted the larger remains of the shattered vase and picked up the plant in his hands. I felt my ghost senses activate as a young maidservant appeared out of nowhere and I recognized her as Niane. Even though I was quite familiar with Plasmius' staff I never could get used to people appearing out of nowhere. It's just something that I don't think I ever will fully get accustomed to.

"Niane, would you be so kind as to replant this in the atrium. I'm afraid the vase in beyond repair."

Vlad said rather calmly despite the circumstances.

"Certainly Mr. Masters. Do you wish a replacement vase?" Niane asked as she opened her palm and created a small transparent reddish orb and placed the orb in the floor where the vase once stood. She then placed the plant in the orb as she began to sweep up the shattered remains.

"That wont be necessary. Thank you." Vlad said as he dusted off his leg. Just behind him Carolyn came into view.

"Why is the power out?" Carolyn asked looking a bit frantic.

"I was about to ask my son and Daniel the same question. Daniel, did you fiddle with something?" Vlad looked at me with suspicious eyes. He always likes to blame me for things!

"Why do you automatically assume I did something ? Does it look like I'm always trying to blow the place up? I'm living here for the moment in case you have forgotten?" I snapped at him. I guess Vlad's distrust stems because sometimes Vlad and I got into fights when he tried to 'borrow' something from the Ghost Zone without the owner's permission. I don't think he fully forgave me during the prank wars phase that went too far. I honestly didn't think the GIW would level the castle or I wouldn't have done it. But that was for Carolyn's sake only, not Vlad's.

Vlad raised an eyebrow about to make a sarcastic reply when Carolyn showed up in perfect timing.

"Baby, what did we say about surmising? Let Danny and Nathanial explain what they may know about the outage." Carolyn said in a calm tone as she hovered next to Vlad. It was so weird how she looked like a cross between my mom and Vlad as Plasmius when she was in her ghost form. Yet despite her appearance she always had a very kind demeanor that took away any otherwise scariness to her look.

"Actually mom, Danny and I saw a strange dark fish-like shape with what looked like several silvery eyes and six fins on each side. Neither of us could sense the creature and think it may have been a holo-projection because the holo computer shows it had been tampered with. I know that after it flew through the ceiling we heard a loud screech and then the power went off." Nathan said. At times Nathan could sound way too scientific but I could tell he wasn't trying to be showoff or an egghead, I could tell his dad raised him to be more formal in his speaking, but when it was just him and me hanging out, he was just plain Nathan.

"That is deeply troubling. The Ghost Portal room here in the mansion is a smaller portable tunnel, but I tested it to be secure so nothing can escape, but we are in Amity Park so perhaps a rouge ghost is loose on the town. I've kept the shield up around the manor so I don't see how it's possible unless a natural portal opened up in the house somewhere." Vlad looked puzzled and Carolyn began to have a distressed look on her face.

"Great, another house with an anomaly. I suggest we give this creature a nickname since we have to deal with so many types, or I suppose we could just keep calling this the creature or being." She muttered. Carolyn shared how she grew up in a home that had what may have been a natural ghost portal. Although not visible, this area in her home could be felt temperature wise and fried any electronics that was near it. One day the phenomenon just went away without explanation. Of course, her home is in another universe but from what she tells us it is in every way like this one, except for the discovery of the Ghost Zone in this reality. She snapped out of her thoughts as Vlad made a suggestion.

"I could analyze the computer systems diagnostic to rule out viruses or conventional hackers and then see how this entity may have accessed the terminal." Vlad added as he pulled out a smart phone and began to type some commands into it. Immediately the breakers reset and power came on again. Great! He's turned the manor into a fruitlooped smart mansion.

"I can use the Plasmius Ecto Scanner to see if there any residual traces of ecto energy. I also think it might be safer if we all stick together and maybe sleep in the living room tonight." Carolyn said as she looked around the ceiling trying to spot anything unusual. Oh no, did she just say we're all sleeping in the living room?

"Mooommmm!" Nathan howled in protest. I was too flabbergasted for speech at the thought of having to curb our game playing night and hoped Nathan could help the grownups see reason.

"Now, little Lemur, we have to be cautious. We don't know what we are dealing with and it would be risky to be separated." Vlad said giving one of his overly dad-like looks of concern. Wait, he just called Nathan little Lemur? He's got a goofy animal nickname as well?

"Dad, please don't call me that! I'm practically 17!" Nathan said as he began to blush. Poor Nathan has a fruitloop for a dad and I have a goof ball for a dad. Why do parents always have to embarrass their kids?

"Now Nathanial, you are just too sensitive. You hardly ever hear Daniel complain when I call him Little Badger." Vlad playfully defended. I just rolled my eyes to the ceiling. Nathan just gave his dad the look kids give their parents when they wish their parents were a million miles elsewhere. I couldn't keep quiet any longer.

"That's because I got tired of complaining about it." I responded. Honestly it did no good to tell Vlad a million times to stop calling me Little Badger. I resigned that it was some quirky thing he learned from his family. He smirked at me with one of his signature creepy looks and began to move and organize the couches as Carolyn went to a pantry and gathered a pile of throw blankets in her arms. Nathanial and I knew the drill and grabbed the headsets so our gaming wouldn't keep the adults awake. I also grabbed some remaining extra credit that wasn't due right away to keep my mind off of having to sleep in the living room. Nathan grabbed some heavy reading as well and we both gave each other the 'it's going to be one of THOSE nights again' looks.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Together Again

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Checkmate, or Endgame.

**Klaatu: This may be a shorter chapter but will have action and some humor. I will be borrowing the point of time in Checkmate Chapter 77 where Tucker and Sam confront Danny to come home except it will be by phone. They still are not convinced that Danny is staying at Vlad's of his own free will and it will get intense. I wish to thank pearl84 for the inspiration from Checkmate. Enjoy.**

General POV

There was only one TV in the living room and Vlad and Carolyn were finishing watching the nightly news and then switched over to Jeopardy. Danny especially found it entertaining to watch them compete to guess the answers, although it was awkward to see them together since Carolyn's likeness to Danny's mom. Danny tried to ignore it but it was difficult not to. He regretted ever looking at the alternate timeline that had mysteriously been recorded in bits and pieces on Carolyn's phone. Carolyn tried to keep open affection with Vlad to a minimum when Danny was present so as not to embarrass him more.

Carolyn treated the living room arrangement like a family night and turned on the TV to see if her favorite show "Can You Guess What?" came on. Carolyn loved competing with Vlad on everything from game shows to chess. She even managed to beat him at chess a couple of times using what Vlad like to call the 'Micky Mouse' strategy. Most of the time Vlad would win. He had years devoted to the game and loved to read tons of books on the subject. Carolyn did some reading but Vlad was clearly the most passionate with the game so he naturally did better. Carolyn on the other hand was excellent at checkers and it would baffle Vlad that she could often beat him at what appeared to be a far less complex game.

Nathan turned the volume down on his game of 'Speed Chaser Lightening'. Nathan and Danny used a game console that allowed 3D game play where the cars looked like they literally jumped out of the viewer screen. Danny had finally just beat Nathan at the last round when his phone rang. It read Tucker on the caller ID. It was 9:30 at night and was almost curfew for him as well.

"Dude, how much longer do you have to stay at Vlad's. It reeks I can't see you except at school and on the weekends. You sure he doesn't have you under some threat or worse, mind control?" Tucker complained. Although Danny's stay was limited until spring break which was still weeks away, Tucker and Sam both missed being able to hang with Danny at the Nasty Burger or just chill at his house playing some video games. The hardest part was helping Danny catch ghosts. It was what made the team a team. He felt, along with Sam that Danny had forgotten the superhero he was and needed a reminder.

"I'm not under any mind control or threat. I know I shouldn't have let you see that alternate timeline where Vlad has nanobots in Jasmine. It's nothing like that! I just am incredibly motivated not to look towards a career at the Nasty Burger." Danny lamented. The strain in his voice didn't hide the frustration he also felt at his situation despite his decision to move in with Vlad's.

"You've forgotten who you are!" Sam protested. Her accusations stung like jagged barbs. Danny knew this argument had been coming. He still did ghost fighting but not on the almost 24 hour schedule that was reeking havoc on his grades. Fortunately, hanging around Vlad he not only learned how to fight ghosts more effectively but had learned some debating techniques that gave him the edge whenever facing an argument.

"I haven't forgotten who I am, I'm just learning how to fight ghosts a whole lot more effectively without burning myself out like I did before. Now I have learned to delegate some of the time of ghost fighting to Carolyn, Nathan and Vlad." Danny replied quick on the comeback.

"Forgive us if we don't fully trust Vlad. He hasn't exactly been on the up and up." Tucker added. He knew about the Vortex situation having been Vlad's fault as well as the ring theft from Pariah Dark, among some of other Vlad's mischievousness. But Vlad had also done a lot of fighting and helping with the ghosts even if reluctantly at times. He still had a selfish side that Carolyn was able to keep in check, but it was almost as much work as fighting off the ghosts. Danny knew this but stood his ground.

"Things are still working out for the better and I can prove it. I had my smartphone tally how fast I captured the ghosts since delegating workload. I can say with certainty that my success rate has risen over 30 percent. Plus all the training I received from Vlad has also greatly improved my fighting skills." He defended with the eloquence of a lawyer.

"Spoken like a true Masters." Sam said with a gratingly sarcastic voice. She missed Danny most of all and wished things could be the way the way it was before with all three of them fighting ghosts day and night.

"So you'd rather I mess up like I used to and allow you and Tucker to have to clean up my messes?" Danny paused and waited for a response. He knew he had hit a sore spot. Sam and Tucker had lost track of the number of times they had to clean up after Danny captured the ghost. The worst time was when they were stuck cleaning up the school cafeteria after the Lunch Lady decided to attack. Tucker never fully got the smell of meatloaf out of his clothes.

"Just don't forget about us. And I'm still not convinced that this is one of Vlad's evil schemes." Sam responded with disappointment in her voice.

"Yeah, what she said." Tucker added. The strain of annoyance rang in his voice as he tried his best to convince his best friend that he needed to leave the Masters mayor mansion and come back home. Danny was getting more than annoyed at the remarks and became defensive.

"So you think it's a evil plot that now I am finally getting B's and even A's and the ghosts are being more neatly captured with minimal mess!?" Danny challenged. Both Sam and Tucker didn't expect Danny to lash out at them. The silence was becoming awkward so Danny had enough. Danny felt he had been a bit too harsh and became apologetic.

"Sorry guys, you gotta believe I miss hanging with you as much as we used to. Hey, do you want to see Rhombus vs the Techno Monster? I know it sounds like a B rated movie but I hear it's actually pretty good." Danny asked as he began to doodle on an art pad program on his phone. He knew he had quickly changed the subject and hoped it would ease tensions that he felt were growing between the three of them.

"Seriously? No way! I so wanted to see that dude! I thought monster movies were no longer on your must see watch list." Tucker was ecstatic. He had all but forgotten the original reason he called, but Sam was not so easily distracted.

"Smooth move Fenton." She muttered in a barely audible voice. She saw how cleverly Danny had changed the subject to something that Tucker was interested in; monster movies and technology. This movie had both.

OK, well I gotta go. It seems we have a mystery ghost visitor bugging us here. We don't know if it is friendly, neutral or trying to make trouble." Danny added quickly. He waited to mention the problem of the unknown entity until near the end of the conversation as he guessed he would get an earful had he brought it up from the beginning.

"All the more reason you need to be Danny Phantom, not Danny Fenton!" Sam raised her voice, clearly disgruntled that she felt she wasn't getting through to Danny.

"Guys, I still am Danny Phantom. I just can't always be Phantom all the time and now I have help. Look I gotta go." Everyone said their goodbyes although Sam had tried to interrupt before Tucker hung up. She stared at Tucker with a cross between deep frustration and downright anger.

"How could you!? I could've talked some more to Danny about this. It just isn't fair!" Sam spoke almost with a sob in her voice.

"I know it isn't fair, but Danny needs to get his grades up and he is doing a better job of fighting the ghosts." Tucker finally relented that Danny was right. He didn't want to admit it but it was the truth. Amity Park was doing much better since Danny was allowing the Masters family to help him and he also got the needed training to fight more effectively. Sam felt betrayed at Tucker's remark.

"Whose side are you on?" Sam snapped and then buried her head in her knees. She wished that Carolyn had never entered the picture. Things would've been so much simpler with Vlad as a lonely bitter full fledged villain and Danny fighting ghosts even if he had been a bit more haphazard with it. She knew she was being selfish. If only there was a way that Danny could spend at least some time after school with the gang. Just like the old days.

Vlad and Carolyn were huddled up and Carolyn was getting sleepy. Vlad could tell she was as she began to close her eyes and they would stay shut for a few minutes till she opened them again. She had groggily forgotten she was in the living room and was getting a bit too comfortable with Danny and Nathan in the same room.

"How's my little Morlock?" She said as she started playing with Vlad's hair tie. Vlad was enjoying the attention. He saw her started to undo his bolo tie and he gently placed his hand over hers and grudgingly stopped her.

"Now honey, we can't forget Daniel is in the living room." He said in a subtle whisper but Danny was still able to pick it up with his super ghost hearing. Vlad knew that Danny felt awkward when Carolyn wanted to kiss Vlad, even subtle kisses on the cheek as she looked so much like Danny's mom. It was most unsettling for him.

"Couldn't we at least get into our jams jams?" She begged sleepily as she twirled one of Vlad's now loose section of hair around her finger. Carolyn half lidded looked around and then looked back at Vlad pleadingly. Being tired for her was akin to being drunk, which is one reason why she NEVER drank as she was a lightweight in any universe. Vlad smirked at her. He wish they were alone right now more than ever.

"Are you awake?" Vlad asked as he gently moved some hair back away from her face. She gave a glint of a mischievous look and began to tickle him. He tickled back and there was much giggling going on to where Nathan and Danny both looked at them and then each other with the expressions ranging from awkwardness to wishing they were both playing video games with volume on full blast but knew that wasn't going to happen. Nathan finally had to say something.

"Dad..?" Nathan asked not saying anything else. His voice said it all as he was trying to hint at his father not to get too affectionate in front of company. It was awkward for him as well as he knew how Danny felt. He knew if he was feeling uncomfortable, his best friend Danny was probably feeling downright annoyed. Vlad got the hint and then whispered in Carolyn's ear just out of range of even the kids' superhearing. Afterwards the adult Masters were surprisingly quiet and Nathan had to do a double take to even make sure they were still there. Both of them looked to fall fast asleep and he breathed a silent relief.

"I'm sorry about that." Nathan apologized to Danny, however Danny was off in his own world absorbed in a first person shooter game and was oblivious to even the giggling that had been going on earlier. He looked up at Nathan with a confused expression.

"About what?" Danny asked as he glanced up briefly and then focused his eyes back on the viewer screen.

"Never mind." Nathan shrugged not wishing to explain anything if Danny hadn't noticed. He turned towards the kitchen debating whether to get up and get an ice water when he was startled by movement close to him and immediately sat up straight on the couch.

"It's OK son, it's me." Vlad said as a he appeared in front of him.

"Dad, you startled me!" Nathan complained as he almost fell off the couch while Vlad looked apologetic.

"Sorry about that. I just wanted to say that mother and have left our duplicates out here and teleported into the chambers." He saw the look of disapproval on Nathan's face and knew an argument was brewing.

"That's so not fair!" Nathan protested. He would've loved to duplicate and go into the rec room but was aware that Danny was not yet proficient at duplicating. He had not had the advantage of growing up as a ghost, he was as far as ghost maturity had about as much experience as a two year old. Nathan knew this but still felt like arguing.

"Son, you know that Daniel cannot duplicate yet. I know this is difficult for all of us but your mother says she needs some privacy at the moment and our duplicates are well able to handle anything that should arise." Vlad spoke sympathetically. He knew how frustrated Nathan was that Danny wasn't as skilled yet in being able to fully duplicate although he did manage to do so a few times. Vlad felt he needed more practice just to be safe since this new threat was unknown and Danny had been injured by Dazzler until Vlad dealt with Dazzler severely.

"OK, but I get to practice with Danny to help him perfect duplication so you don't have to worry about it. Deal?" Nathan was very apt at teaching Danny even more so than Vlad. Possibly because they were near identical at age made Nathan more able to relate to Danny.

"Alright. Just know that your mother and I want to be sure this entity doesn't pose some unknown threat." Vlad assured Nathan as Vlad's duplicate walked back over to the main sofa. Meanwhile the original Vlad and Carolyn were in the master bedroom.

Vlad's POV

I could see that Carolyn was a bit tense with all the worry about the unknown entity and so I offered to rub her back. She smiled and I carefully removed the back of her nightgown and began to get to work. She had a lot of stress knots as I wasn't the least bit surprised. I felt her become increasingly relaxed which was important. Carolyn tended to stress easily yet at other times seemed quite relaxed when the rest of the family was more tensed up which often seemed puzzling to me.

Everyone shared some stress today from the visitations of the unknown entity which has taken a toll on all of us. Usually when an uninvited "guest" cares to venture near my living quarters, I am always quick to put said being in their place. This unknown being however, throws a quirk in my usual way of handling things as it doesn't act like it is directly intending to threaten us. It would be so much easier to know if it was 'for' or 'against' us but as yet that remains one of many questions I have about it. Why has it decided to invade us? Are its intentions hostile or benign? And one question most deeply burdened on my mind...why did it show up now?

"Are you certain our duplicates and Nathaniel are enough? Daniel may be a good ghost fighter but he still has much to learn." Carolyn cautioned me as she rolled over and gave me a tender kiss on the lips. She was truly a vision of loveliness and a sight for sore eyes after a difficult day dealing with specters, grouchy businessmen and rebellious hormonal teens.

"Carolyn, we've been over this before We have years of experience as half-ghosts fighting all kinds of spectral riffraff. Besides, Nathanial is more than capable of taking on any type of specter and Daniel is fast following in Nathan's footsteps. Daniel needs to develop the experience to stand on his own two feet. He can't accomplish that if we are always hovering over him." I reminded Carolyn. She grew up around a very protective family so it's understandable that she would be this way.

"I know, it's just this entity has me on edge. You don't suppose it might be one of those disgruntled observants you annoyed. They may not yet know you are Vlad Masters but they know the Wisconsin Ghost hangs around both the Masters' and the Mayoral Mansion as well." Carolyn was always looking out for me to an almost obsessive degree. That's one of the reasons I love her so much.

"This entity just doesn't strike me as something that is directly trying to frighten us. At times it actually seems to act more frightened of us. If it intended to do us harm I am sure it would've done so by now." I spoke with assurance. Carolyn nodded but didn't seem entirely convinced. She, like me had an inherently suspicious nature which more often than not served us well. The brilliant scientist in me was still trying to keep an open mind in all of this.

"That makes sense based on what Danny and Nathanial described, it seemed to act like it was trying to communicate rather than threaten us. Like you said, if it had hostile intent it most likely would've done something threatening by now." Carolyn reassured herself. I do so love it when I can 'help' her convince herself of an idea or suggestion. It isn't always easy to do but I have gotten better with practice. I only wish I could get my Little Badger to be more like that. While Nathaniel has mostly seem to have outgrown the challenging argumentative stage, Daniel seems to be more hard pressed to challenge me. I blame this mostly on Jack's influence. Jack has always loved to debate, even in his college days when he insisted that Santa Clause exists despite Madeline's challenge to that logic. It amazed me however despite is desire to argue and give some scientific validity to his debate he could be so blatantly oblivious to common sense problems. This obliviousness inevitably caused significant grief to those around him. I kept recalling the haunting memories of the portal accident. Had it not been for Carolyn's altering the timeline I would've spent years rather than days in the hospital. The thought makes me shudder as I would've been much more an emotional basket case had this accident resulted in that outcome.

"Meeeoooowww!" My thoughts were interrupted by Maddie as I heard a garbage pail knock over down the hall. Claws were hard scurrying down said hallway towards our bedroom till they hit our door with a thud. Sometimes I regretted taking Daniel's advice to get a 'stress relief' cat. Maddie was apparently my equivalent of a 'lonely guy' cat in the earlier timeline. But today, she was the annoying fur-ball in ANY timeline!

"Maddie!" I yelled as she knew better than to make a mess while chasing pests...or at least so I thought. She was quite useful in locating mice and other small critters usually with minimal mess. Lately however I noticed she was becoming a bit more reckless. Maybe she sensed the tension in the air.

"Maddie's acting a tad bit more anxious lately. Maybe she needs to come snuggle with us." Carolyn said with a small grin. The cat was already spoiled and very manipulative at getting attention, much like her owner.

"You know how selfish she is with me." I reminded Carolyn. We both knew Maddie picked me as her favorite and would often wiggle between us to get comfortable. One time the little stinker was licking my ear and I thought it was Carolyn until I turned over to see a fluff of white fur facing me. As I glanced at the direction of the cat outside our door and the back at Carolyn, Carolyn's look remained insistent and I knew there was no changing her mind.

"Oh butter biscuits!" I muttered in defeat as I got up to open the door and let her in. Of course she was waiting right outside the door as if having listened in and understood the conversation regarding her. I reluctantly got up and opened the door and she pranced in victoriously as she leapt onto the bed and began to sniff around the covers.

"You realize this is only going to further spoil her." I knew my Maddie. She was already spoiled as I let her sit on fine furniture while playing chess with her. She even got to sit at the table a few times when Nathaniel was young and wanted her to sit with us badly one evening. While I returned to bed she already had stolen my warm spot. I gently nudged her and she finally moved only to snuggle up between us purring. Amazingly, there was still enough room for Carolyn to drape her arm around me despite the cat.

As I laid in bed I began to telepathically link with my duplicate and check on the boys. All seemed quiet and I noticed Daniel had fallen asleep while Nathaniel was still up with headphones over his ears playing video games. He had a bit more energy than Daniel as he inherited his tendency to be a 'night owl' from me. I use to be able to get away with staying up till 2 am while still waking up at 6 am alert and wide awake. A result of the ghost powers I received in the lab accident.

I was distracted as Maddie jumped off the bed and began to stare at a wall. No doubt she probably smelled a mouse inside the wall and was waiting for it to make an unfortunate entrance and become her next snack. I began to refocus and through my duplicates' eyes scanned around the room for any anomalies. All was still quiet and calm. I momentarily broke the psychic link however when Carolyn whispered something to me sleepily and I couldn't quite make it out. The next moment she had reached her arms around my waist and began to tickle me so I flipped her over onto her back tickling her back on her sides. She giggled and surrendered as she wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a peck on the neck then she gave me a slightly suspicious look.

"Were you peeking on the boys?" She asked. I wondered how she knew when I was linking with my duplicate. I concluded she must have a sixth sense related to her ghost powers that I as yet had to develop. She was seldom ever wrong when she guessed I was using my powers in some subtle way. It almost felt intimidating how well she was at this.

"I just felt better checking up on them." I guess some of Carolyn's over-protectiveness was rubbing off on me.

"Your duplicate would've alerted you had there been an problem." She was nearly as experienced as me in sensing her duplicate. Yet despite our experience I just didn't feel quite as at ease as unless I linked with my duplicate to check up on the kids. I just smiled at her and then she gave me a mischievous grin.

"Your watching them but who's watching you?" She said as she managed to float herself off the bed, reach down and grab both my arms with her left hand and pin me down as she began to tickle me on my extra sensitive left side. Then all at once I heard Maddie starting to meow annoyingly loud as she continued to stare at the wall. Oh no this was not happening and I feared I would never get any sleep the rest of the night. Then things started to get even weirder.

The night light flickered for a moment and then I heard a high pitched noise similar to the sound old televisions would make when turned on. This near ultrasonic pitch became increasingly louder and Carolyn stopped tickling and gave me a puzzled look as I could tell she noticed the sound as well. The power flickered again and then suddenly the night light went out. The pitch continued to grow louder as I began to get out of bed to reset the breakers when I felt a rush of dizziness and began to fall in slow motion back onto the bed. My eyes shut and I felt my entire body was tingling like some kind of sleep paralysis I have read about. I fought to move my muscles but nothing responded and I began to feel nervous. I struggled with all my will power to open my eyes until finally I managed to slowly open them as if waking from a nightmare. But when I opened them I was unprepared for what I saw.

It appeared to be the hospital room I was in for those few terrifying days after the accident. I figured I must be dreaming again, but it was more like a nightmare. Everything thing looked the same except I noticed a calender and the date was October, 14th 1984 which meant I had been in the hospital for over 5 months! I still had my Ecto Acne and worse yet, I was alone. No one visiting me until I saw Stephanie as I turned over to see her sitting in a chair with a concerned look on her face. I looked for Carolyn but she was no where to be found. I still had feelings for Stephanie which seemed to resurface when I looked at her. I buried those feelings when I lost my dad and sister. I knew I was being selfish. I always was somewhat selfish. I didn't want anyone's pity and that made having to stay in the hospital all the more painful. But why was I remembering this!? The blasted timeline had been erased, but it was as if an echo of that timeline continued to haunt me. I began to feel my face to see how bad the acne had spread. It was worse than I imagined.

"Don't touch it or you'll make it worse." Stephanie cautioned as she gently took hold of my hand, her eyes held tears welling behind the surface. I refused to look at myself in the mirror. I didn't want to be reminded of that face again! It was a face of defeat, of having allowed a dimwit to mess up my life! I didn't want to relive the feelings of anger and helplessness I tried so hard to bury. Just like I avoided the anger and grief I felt whenever I thought of my sister or my dad. I chose to run from it rather than deal with it.

Things became stranger as I then appeared to be outside of myself looking at myself on the bed. I saw the red blotches on my face and the bandages covering an area with what looked one of the doctor's apparent 'experimental' creams oozing out of the sides of the covering. The next words I heard from Stephanie were painful.

"If you face your pain, you will heal from it faster." I was uncertain if she was just referring to the acne or the incident where I broke off our relationship to being only 'friends' after the tragic losses of my family. Before I could see anything else the entire scene began to fade as her voice became a distant echo. Out of a gray mist came another vision where I was having my 20 year college reunion but the circumstances were different. I was unmarried and apparently making the moves on Maddie. Seeing in second person how much Madeline was unnerved by my behavior to her was humiliating to say the least. I believe she couldn't stand to be around me and for good cause. I was hitting on her practically in front of Jack and Jack was oblivious as usual while Madeline looked as if she wish she could've turned invisible or hide under a rock. My obsession with Maddie was extreme in this vision.

In the next vision I saw myself pulling her close to me during a photograph. I was surprised she didn't haul off and slap me but I guess the guilt of the portal accident had stifled some of her reactions to give me leeway of which I had taken full advantage of. I never considered myself to be ungentlemanly and yet here I was, making advances on a married woman! What had happened to me? I saw with my left arm how I had continued pushed Jack out of the way. How I wished this nightmare would just end! As I viewed this horrid timeline vision I began to believe my flirting with Madeline was more out of revenge against Jack rather than attraction to Maddie. What else would've explained my unusually brazen behavior? I felt as if I was also punishing Maddie for all the times she had rejected me prior to and after the portal accident. But I knew she never really loved me. If Jack had left Maddie for any reason, I still don't think she would've truly loved me, only perhaps having a facade of love.

"Jack ALWAYS tried to keep you out of the picture. He stole the love of your life in this previous timeline and in the current timeline." Came a disembodied voice that echoed in all directions. I never saw who was talking to me and tried to see if I could recognize the voice to anyone I may have spoken to in the Ghost Zone. I reflected on what the voice said which was madness. How could I have been so blind? Even after the several days out of the hospital I made moves on her with renewed vengeance, but despite my charm she continued to ignore me while my attraction to Carolyn had only deepened. I decided to try to do an unspoken competition with Jack on who could build the better ghost fighting devices. Sometimes I succeeded, and other times Jack won. But all in all Madeline only had eyes for Jack and never me. My father always told me to be better than everyone else. He had allowed pride and ambition to dictate him . Maddie at one time was a 'prize' I felt I deserved. My dad's arrogance had affected me more than I realized.

The scene once again faded into Daniel being in some cube like contraption. I saw myself as Vlad Plasmius trying to get Daniel to renounce his father to which he responded by calling me a "seriously crazed up fruitloop." If these visions were to teach me what a jerk I was in this other horrid timeline, I needed no further convincing of this. I only wished the visions would end. The scene faded to blackness for a few moments then disjointed images kept appearing.

The images then faded to become another more disturbing image of me marrying Madeline which I assumed was another timeline that Daniel must've created as I saw in the vision him knocking me out of the blast of the portal. In this timeline I married Madeline and Jack got ghost powers instead. One moment I was in Madeline's arms kissing her and the next moment I was in a lab room and Madeline called me a "lying piece of cheese". Daniel was now strapped to some type of operating table. Was this my doing?!

"Now Maddie, I may be a lying piece of cheese, but I'm still your husband." I saw myself answer her.

"Well, consider this an ANULLMENT!" She yelled as she grabbed me by the lapel and hoisted me over her back lifting me up with her two arms like a heavy weight wrestler. She then tossed me into the Ghost Zone. I looked with horror as I saw the 'other' me floating in the swirling green mass.

"Did you know I love ghosts?" I saw my other self say in a weak half-hearted self defense before a gang of gargoyle like creatures descended on me and I heard my own blood curdling screams. Talk about a marriage gone wrong! I would've been better off just having the cat!

For some reason I tried to will myself to wake up but nothing worked. The next moment I saw myself alone on an asteroid in space as I saw Jack inside of a shuttle flying away to leave me! The disembodied voice said the cruelest words yet to me. "You were destined to die alone and abandoned." This creature sounded like the embodiment of hell itself. I had to believe it was responsible for these horrid visions. All the while watching this I just wanted the visions to end.

The scene faded and I woke up. I was terrified and couldn't even move for a moment. I felt myself covered in sweat from head to toe. This had to have been one of the worst nightmares I had ever experienced. But what had brought it on? Why was this horrible timeline coming back to haunt me? I hated to admit it but all the timing of the incidents began after the entity had come into our lives. It was if it was somehow connected or affected by time in some way. This seemed to support one of my theories of the creature: it seemed to act like it couldn't fully phase into this reality and subsequently tried to use the holo projector to make itself known. I had to believe that the power outages, high pitched sounds and the unusual nightmares I was having were all tied together with the appearance of this creature. I knew I had to get to the bottom of this mystery or be driven mad by the terrifying dreams of a timeline that no longer existed but continued to haunt my mind and soul.

"Are you alright?" I heard Carolyn's voice as she wiped my forehead. The sound of her was like the splash of cold ice water after having wandered through a desert. The night light was back on so the power somehow came back on in the night. I wasn't sure how long I had been out till I looked at the clock and it read 6:00 AM. I had only been asleep for a little over six hours but the nightmare had made it feel like an eternity.

"I just had the craziest dream." I replied as I began to sit up in the bed. After such a nightmare as this I wasn't about to go back to sleep. I felt of my face and it was smooth and without blemishes. I know it was irrational of me but I had to check anyway.

"You spoke in your sleep saying something about being a crazed up fruitloop. I told you before, you needn't apologize as I have been a little fruit loopy in my life as well, but I manage myself with meditation and exercise." Carolyn assured me. We had this conversation before. I worried what else I had said in my sleep. These dreams were terribly embarrassing and although Carolyn had peeked at this damnable alternate timeline on her phone that shouldn't even be there, I had been forced to relive it facing all the points of my life that I was least proud of. It was a mockery of my life that I had helped to make through my own vain folly. How could someone who was such a strategist at chess be so blind to the bad moves I had made in this alternate timeline? It was if I was a convoluted confusion of genius and fool in a tragic blend of narcissism. I felt ashamed.

"I wanted to say I took your advice and signed us up for some Anger Management sessions." Carolyn added. When I heard this I was stunned. I felt we were getting more than enough therapy and this was redundant to say the least. I hated even hearing the word "therapy" mentioned in a conversation. This was a word that implied weakness and needing help, all the thing my dad taught me to hate.

"I. Don't. Need. Anger Management!" I retorted. Carolyn smiled as she looked back at me and then came her brilliant response.

"And I look forward to your being able to prove it." She said as she turned over pulling off some of my covers. I recall earlier in the month in a moment of weakness promising Daniel on a dare that I would take the stupid classes in addition to regular therapy to prove to him I had no such need of such frivolity. Carolyn had to remember this promise of course. So my Queen had defeated her King. So well played I had to admire her brilliance despite my loathing. I looked back at the clock that now read 6:15 AM and decided it was best that I get up and make myself some tea.

I went intangible to lift the remaining covers off of me and floated towards the kitchen as I summoned my duplicate back to me. As I thought, my duplicate hadn't experienced anything out of the ordinary and that was good news. I wish I could say the same for myself after this nightmare but I needed to stay awake and had an full schedule today. As I looked at the boys I noticed the television had been on. I thought I had turned it off before going to bed and my duplicate didn't recall seeing anyone turn it on. I glanced at what appeared to be Harriet Chin giving the Amity Morning News.

"It was the unanimous decision of the city council that the Mayor would not be held accountable in the recent attack by the weather ghost. Mayor Vlad Masters was not immediately available for comment but one of his attorneys stated while the Mayor regrets the unfortunate actions of the ghost, at no time was he aware that ghost had a hostile intent against the city and anticipated the being would only alleviate the current drought." She read the statement as pictures of rain soaked Amity Park was being flashed on the screen. Thank God I had some good attorneys. I promised Carolyn I wouldn't overshadow the proceedings though I was tempted. Instead I was exonerated from any wrong doing...at least this time. Of course I think the real reason I was let off the hook might have also been the fact there was no law regarding securing services for a spiritual entity and the City Hall knew this. I suspected this would make a legal fight very expensive for the city so they decided not to fight me on this. Still I might've decided to take my lumps as I was somewhat at fault for using an untested technology against an spectral creature who was far from a stable upstanding being.

I listened as she went on to say that the Guys in White would neither confirm nor deny that the creature had been apprehended. I was amazed at how nonchalant Harriet was as if she was talking about a person instead of a phantasm. I thought what an odd world I lived in as I turned off the television. I used to be very skeptical about ghosts during our college days and felt Jack's portal was a big wasted of time telling him it wouldn't work. Little did I realized not only did ghosts exist but that I would become half of one myself! The irony never ceased to amaze me.

I put a pot of tea on the stove and made sure to load extra chamomile in it. I needed to settle down my nerves and take the edge of the adrenaline that surged in me as a result of the nightmares I had experienced. I enjoyed waiting on myself. Most of my staff except for Niane and a few others were watching the Wisconsin Castle while I did my Mayor duties here at Amity Park. I often felt puzzled at how I ended up being Mayor watching over this backwater town. I recalled the events that brought this about. While Carolyn was attending a science convention a foolish rivalry of who was the best ghost fighter brewed between Daniel and myself. This ultimately led to a set of pranks between us which ultimately led to my being in office. Of course, Carolyn scolded me for using my powers to win the election and made me promise not to use my powers in that way again and asked me to resign. That was until the runner up Mr. Cortez had become ill from eating at the Nasty Burger and I was forced to remain Mayor must to my chagrin. I was childish and never really wanted such a position except to show Daniel up, but now I was stuck away from my beloved Wisconsin home so I figured it was deserved punishment for overshadowing voters so I'd win, thus I made the best of it. My Queen walked over to the kitchen and put her arms around me and whispered in my ear as I began to sip some tea.

"I know you aren't thrilled with the anger sessions, but the paparazzi had a field day they spied on you some time ago. Danny accused you of being too uptight and needing a stress management pet such as a cat. You responded by yelling at Danny that you would not get a cat. The paparazzi even slowed down the video clip of your yelling making it go viral." Carolyn reminded me. I recall trying one of my little schemes to get Daniel to join Nathanial and myself for some ghost training months ago. So I wasn't as forthright as I should've been when the plane redirected him and his mom to my Rocky Mountain Chalet. At least the plane landed rather than Daniel and Madeline jumping out of the plane with parachutes. Madeline was thrilled to spend the afternoon playing checkers with Carolyn so it was rather a pleasant visit despite my less than honest methods.

"I wish Daniel wasn't so hardheaded. He really brings out the anger in me at times." I complained. At times Daniel reminded me a lot of myself at is age, which is probably why I got on my dad's nerves a lot of the time.

"I know, but baby you need to be more honest. Besides, what better way to prove you don't NEED anger management than to go to a session and have a professional say you're fine." Carolyn was indeed clever. She spoke in such a way that could melt even the hardest of hearts. She began to play with my ponytail and I melted at her touch. She knew my greatest weakness which was her charm. She could wrap her finger around me a lot like Madeline used to back in our college days when I she asked me for a favor to help Jack with his homework. Women!

As Carolyn cuddled me I wished I could've returned to the master bedroom for a while but I had an important meeting with research and development at Axion for a new energy saving technology. I couldn't afford to be late today as much as I would've liked to be. I needed to know those eggheads knew what they were doing and so I was committed to overseeing the proposed project. I sighed to myself. It was at times like this that I wish I could stop time like Clockwork.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Unexplained Happenings

**Klaatu: Though this chapter will be kind of shorter more important stuff gets revealed along the spooky and scary lines. There will be a major encounter with the entity again as more secrets are revealed about the creature. I don't want to spoil too much so I leave you to find out the interesting insights. Thanks again for all reviews and enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Checkmate or Endgame.

Danny's POV

I went to school today when approaching the park across from the school grounds I noticed what looked like several greenish giant spider ghosts about 3 feet in diameter, crawling over a 20 foot makeshift green glowing web. I internally debated the logic of fighting ghosts that weren't hurting anyone or causing any kind of trouble other than just behaving like spiders. I found it odd that unlike most other ghosts I encountered they basically remained passive and surely kids would see their web and just stay away. Then suddenly, for no apparent reason the spiders abandoned their web and scurried away behind some bushes. I knew the web might accidentally entangle one of the kids if they ran into it as it was rather large and also contained ecto energy so it might alert the spiders, so I felt it best to take my thermos and cautiously proceed to walk over to web and suck it up in the Fenton Thermos. As I opened the thermos and watched the strands get sucked up into it I felt like someone or something was watching me. I turned around but saw no one, yet the feeling was very strong just the same. There was no ghost sensing mist coming out of my mouth but I didn't want to take any chances so I opened up my cell phone and speed dialed. Carolyn picked up.

"Hello, Danny?" She said sounding a bit tired. I knew she sometimes liked to sleep in after helping Nathan and I to get to school. She tended to burn the candle at both ends with ghost research.

"Aunt Carolyn, I need you or Vlad to check out the park by the school. I saw some ghost spiders that hung around and then just scurried off behind some bushes." I felt awkward calling her Aunt Carolyn as she seemed more like a second mom to me but did so out of respect. It also sounded better than calling her Mrs. Masters which still seemed kind of creepy to me.

"Hi sweetie, I'll make sure to teleport over there and check things out. Don't be late and remember the rules, no ghost hunting or fighting during school hours." She sounded a lot like mom only a bit more formal. Fruitloop had a more formal way of talking and at times had what sounded like a mild British accent mixed with Wisconsin flavor. I guess it was expected some of his mannerisms would rub off on her. At least she wasn't calling me 'Little Badger.'

"OK, thanks." I hung up and ran up to the steps of Casper High. Gone were the days when I didn't mind being late to handle any unexpected ghost threats during school hours. Now, I had a rotating schedule. Still, despite the improved success of managing ghost threats I considered trying to persuade Vlad or Carolyn that I should be home schooled as it would offer me more ghost fighting time. But then I realized this would've backfired as then I wouldn't be able to even see Sam or Tucker at school so I had to toss that idea into file 13. And when I tried to just ask them if I could "bend" the rules once in a while Vlad came up with his famous lecture.

"You must learn to balance out both your responsibilities of ghost fighting with school attendance." Vlad argued that even superheroes needed balance and being able to rely on partners and backups just like fire fighters or police officers who take shifts. It was hard to get used to what I now have called myself which is a 'part-time' superhero. I still felt it was a bit obsessive compulsive to have such strict schedules but I was slowly learning to adjust. Nathan ran up to me as I entered the school.

"What's wrong?" Nathan could so tell when I was even the slightest bit miffed.

"I saw some weird ghost like activity in the bushes in front of the school yard but I followed the rules again and told Carolyn." I said with some regret. Nathan nodded his head in empathy. He felt like I did at times though a bit more restrained.

"You may feel frustrated not ghost fighting like you used to. Believe me I get it. I want to do it too whenever it's needed but we're in school right now and you need to keep your grades up. And believe it or not there are things you can learn in school that will help with your ghost fighting abilities." Nathan sounded like a cross between one of the counselors and Jazz. I stared at him in disbelief.

"What could I possibly learn at Casper High that would even remotely help me with my ghost fighting?" I was extremely skeptical. I think Nathan really stepped in it this time and I was waiting in anticipation for him to fall flat on his face...then came the answer I didn't expect.

"When Lancer made you read 'Pride and Prejudice" you could apply the lessons the protagonist had to learn in the story about not making hasty judgment calls. There's a lot of social strategies that can help in dealing with ghosts or even diffusing conflicts before they start." He had one of those signature creepy smiles like Vlad and I barely could contain a laugh at what he said. Like I would be able to have a light hearted discussion with Technus about technology. Nathan was nonetheless insistent.

"That's precisely what I'm saying. Sometimes it helps to listen to what an opposing side has to say and step outside yourself. The blazing cannons approach of trying to defeat a ghost doesn't always solve the problem." Nathan argued. Is this Nathan I'm talking to? He's seen some of the ghosts I've had to fight with. I just couldn't see some ghost dropping its weapons and sitting by the campfire roasting marshmallows with me.

"You don't get it. All the ghosts I've met can't be reasoned with. They all just want to fight me, jail me or collect my pelt! Even your dad and I had to duke it out a few times." I knew this would probably open up a can of worms but I had to bring it up. Nathan was in the awkward position at times of being referee when Vlad and I started to exchange more than just heated words.

"My dad can be quite stubborn at times, but if you learn to offer a valid 'olive branch' in an argument without verbal cues that sound like insults, he tends to listen even if at first he seems disinterested." Nathan defended cautiously. Having grown up with Fruitloop he knew how to manipulate him at times. It was given that the best manipulators are a parents' own kids. Still I needed to point out to Nathan the challenges I faced with Plasmius when he really gets on my nerves.

"How was I suppose to reason with your dad when he trapped me in a cube one time and asked me to become his son as he felt you needed a full-time brother to train and work with?" I could see Nathan was taken aback by that example. It was one of Vlad's more Fruitloop moments.

"I realize my dad can be a bit extreme but at least he didn't ask you to renounce your dad. You have to understand he lost two of his family members violently in a car accident so he definitely has some attachment issues. But you remember when I found you in that cube and what I said to dad to get him to ease off." Nathan was an expert at persuading his dad at times to be more reasonable, but again I argue it is because Nathan is Vlad's son and that gives him some leverage. He knows the things to say that will work with Vlad while I'm at my wits end to figure out what to do other than to fight.

"He trapped me in a CUBE!" I reminded Nathan. This was annoying at best, and downright freaky at worst. I didn't need to be a psyche major to know that was just plain crazy to do.

"My dad apologized. I don't justify some of his crazy behavior. He is taking anger management classes with mom." Nathan explained. I pitied the anger coach that had to deal with Vlad. I am certain that coach would need some therapy after dealing with him. And I get Nathan wanting to try to be the negotiator between our squabbles. I just don't think Nathan realizes how stubborn Vlad can be.

"Your dad and I had a sword fight over the Infini Map." I retorted.

"That's unfortunately true, however he set the safety protocols of the ghost sword so it would only stun your core, not seriously hurt you. But you are right, he really has a problem and has been working on it. Perhaps if I showed you about negotiating skills in the holo simulator after school, then you could better know how to deal with him without always having to fight." Sometimes the only way I could get what Nathan was saying was examples in the simulator. He did his best to keep things simple, but he could really get deep and lose me with some of his complicated explanations...on that we both agreed on.

I was shaken out of my thoughts as we both headed down the hall to the sound of the final bell. As we were walking Sam and Tucker darted past the crowd and caught up to us.

"Howdy stranger." Sam said snidely. I could tell she resented the fact I had so little time to spend with her and Tucker.

"I asked Vlad for some extra time this weekend, maybe we could hit the arcade later." I probably should've left the part off about asking Vlad.

"So now you need his permission for extra curricular activity?" She glared at me with those eyes that could condemn with just one look. I knew she was visibly upset that I was on a stricter schedule since being weekdays under Vlad's roof.

"He's just making sure I keep my grades up. It sure beats spending extra hours in detention, or worse, numerous parent/teacher conferences." I dreaded those conferences after the last one in which my dad thought Mr. Lancer's scarf was possessed by a ghost when it began to beep to let him know of a meeting. My dad didn't know about smart scarfs and so he immediately zapped and slimed Mr. Lancer from head to toe. Needless to say I had extra homework for a month after that and my dad wasn't allowed to carry ANY ecto weapons to school after that incident.

"Dude, I still think that he's mind controlling you." Tucker chimed in as we were walking down the hall to Lancer's class. I so did not want to hear another accusation about mind control again! We talked about this but it was like talking to a brick wall. They both knew how dire my grades had gotten and I still had dreams of going to NASA. So I decided to be a bit sarcastic in my response.

"Would you prefer to stay at Vlad's for a couple of weeks and see for yourself whether he's mind controlling me or not?" I said with a smirk. I was getting fed up to the hilt with all this paranoia but I understood they knew how Vlad could be. The point was not being naive about my stay with Vlad and was on my guard, but he was on his best behavior while I stayed there or so it seemed. I then noticed out of the corner of my eye one of Sam's longtime unwanted admirers running in her direction. The timing couldn't have been worse.

"Oh no, nerdy creeper dude alert! I need to get into class like yesterday!" Sam was exasperated at her creepy admirer, Stewie Anderson who had a terrible crush on her. It wouldn't have been so creepy except he is only 12 years old but already in high school. Apparently he's a genius child prodigy. I didn't know who to feel more sorry for. We weren't getting into class fast enough with all the kids in front of us so Tucker had a spur of the moment plan.

"Don't worry Sam, I got this. Hey, Stewie! I hear that the cafeteria vending machine is getting filled with some boss new candy." Stewie immediately turned around and headed that way, forgetting he had to get to class. He was extremely snack obsessive and had a bad candy addiction. Sam silently breathed a sigh of relief as we entered the classroom.

As I took my seat I felt a strange chilling tingle up my spine, but no mist came from my mouth. Still, this was that same eerie feeling I had when that unknown 'visitor' came to us the other day and messed with us. I really didn't need this happening now. We had a test today and the last thing I needed was some unknown ghost that I couldn't sense haunting the halls.

"Today class we will be taking a test on little known teachers that made a big impact in our history." It was so obvious Mr. Lancer was trying to boost his own importance of teaching and the last group of history lessons seemed to involve teachers in over 90 percent of them.

"I'll be doing something a little different today and have decided to make part of the test an oral rather than written exam. Anyone who answers the most questions voluntarily will be excused from the written exam." This was highly unusual of Mr. Lancer. He preferred a routine of handing out tests and having them turned in. Yet he even acted different today, his expression unreadable.

"Let's begin with the first question, shall we? Who said "those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them? And explain what this statement means?" Even before Lancer was finished I knew the answer to the questions and I had Nathan to thank for it. We both drilled on it and he even used some funny memory tricks drawing a funny picture of Mr. Lancer dressed like Aristotle. I threw up my hand before anyone else and Lancer pointed to me.

"Aristotle! And the statement means that a teacher has the greater impact in helping the child to learn more so than the parent and should get the greater recognition." I didn't necessarily agree with the quote but I knew the answer. My dad may have been a goof ball at times but the best teachers in the world would never replace him.

"Correct Mr. Fenton!" Mr. Lancer replied. It felt wonderful to be finally answering questions correctly and getting better scores in my work. Nathan generously let me answer much of the questions as he knew I needed to get my grades up. Unfortunately, I could tell though my getting to the head of the class was starting to grate the nerves of my closest friends Sam and Tucker. I wasn't trying to be a showoff like my sister Jazz who was Casper High's valedictorian, but I felt it was my time to shine and low grades wasn't getting me any closer to becoming an astronaut at NASA. Mr. Lancer had a very impressed look on his face and I had all but forgotten the creepy feeling that I experienced earlier. Then the classroom intercom began to crackle.

"But how can the teachers teach if they are never willing to learn?" Came a low spooky sounding voice that didn't sound like anyone I knew. It was unearthly.

"Please excuse me for a moment while I check out our 'guest' announcer." Mr. Lancer said curtly, visibly angry. He stormed out of the classroom as we were left sitting at our desks, wondering what was going on. The next few moments there was an electronic type of pop over the intercom and a door in the background was heard opening and Mr Lancer's voice was picked up over the intercom.

"OK, whoever you are, hiding will do you no good." Mr. Lancer's voice warned. Some kids in the class were starting to chuckle.

"Who says I'm hiding?" Came the strange voice, sounding even weirder still.

"Revenge of the Invisible Man', who or what are you?!" Came a nervous reaction sounding from Mr. Lancer. Now I knew it was time to call Carolyn on speed dial. Because of my agreement with Vlad and Carolyn I couldn't just sneak out, transform and fight this ghost. I was still in class and I knew the drill so I sent an emergency text to Carolyn to come straight to our class. I saw her response text of 'On the way!' and I knew she would be here in just moments.

Less than a minute later a flash of light was seen away from the door down the hall where the main office and communications were. Dash quickly ran up to the door to peek at what was going on followed by half the class.

"Hey, it's Carolyn Plasmius! I wonder if she's going to fight the ghost?" Dash said as he saw her hovering in front of the school door. I secretly wished it was me doing the ghost fighting. Curiosity got the better of me as I raced up to the door and peeked through the window with everyone else to see what was going on. Over the intercom a click was heard, then nothing and then the intercom in the hallway began to glow with a strange eerie bluish haze. The next voice over the intercom was Lancers.

"As a duly deputized ghost fighter and Vice Principal of this school I hereby order you to cease and desist haunting these school grounds and depart immediately!" Wow, I never knew Lancer had been deputized a ghost fighter but it made sense with all the ghost activity our school has seen.

"Why should I?" Came that creepy low voice again. A faint electrical buzz kept humming through the speakers as if the ghost was charging the intercoms with some kind of ecto energy.

"You're interfering with my history quiz! Come out you coward!" Lancer spat over the speaker. He was livid. The creature clearly had an advantage by staying invisible.

"Do you want a history lesson? How about a lesson of injustice?! An experiment with a dimensional portal at a college that killed my people and severely injured a student 20 years ago causing the student to spend years in a hospital to rot!" Was this creature talking about what happened to Vlad? And why did it think the portal blast killed its people? Also it had its facts wrong. Vlad was only several days in the hospital. Could it be thinking about a prior timeline where Carolyn told me Vlad spent years hospitalized. And how did this creature know about this?

By now the entire class was out in the hall watching the show through the window to the school's main office. Carolyn materialized in front of where Lancer stood in near the microphone. He turned and was momentarily startled yelling "War and Peace!"

"Relax, it's me." Mr. Lancer had called on Carolyn before to get help with ghost infestations at the school. Although he didn't know her secret identity, he had seen her fight off ghosts at Casper before. It was an uneasy alliance as Lancer knew he could get into a lot of trouble with the GIW for working with a ghost. It didn't matter if the ghost was trying to fight off another ghost. All the GIW cared about was the letter of the law, not the spirit of it.

"Thank heavens you're here! Ms. Plasmius this ghost is apparently choosing to remain invisible." Lancer was trying to stay calm but Carolyn could sense his distress by his faster heartbeat.

"Mr. Lancer, let me see what I can do." Carolyn said confidently as she began to to form pink orbs of energy in her gloved hands.

"Why are you upset?" Carolyn asked the ghost. The intercom remained silent except for a strange crackling energy that could faintly be heard.

"Have you ever lost a love one to someones' carelessness? Or worse, have you ever experienced losing everyone you ever cared about?" The voice spoke quietly over the intercom.

"I have lost someone close to me. Do you want to talk about your loss?" She asked the ghost. Carolyn's method of trying to psychoanalyze a ghost rather than just attack it was unorthodox but at times yielded unexpected positive results.

"It only hurts when I talk about it...when I start to remember." The being lamented. Carolyn turned to Lancer and silently motioned with her hand for him to get out of the office while the creature was distracted. He nodded and quickly exited while motioning the class to get back inside the classroom. That was the standard safety protocol for Casper High during a haunting, but it was so hard to follow when all I wanted to do was to sneak off somewhere and go ghost. At least I picked a spot in class where through the window reflection I could still see what was going on. Super ghost vision also helped keeping the images sharp even at great distances.

"Why don't we take this discussion outside?" Carolyn offered. She was hoping to lure the threat out of the school and into the open should the ghost decide to become violent.

" I cannot talk without an electrical device like an intercom or computer interface." The voice spoke with an odd mixture of frustration and sadness. I was impressed the creature had learned the names of technical stuff since coming here. It seemed very smart but at times also a lot like a wild animal acting on instinct.

"How about trying to talk through my Smartphone?" Carolyn offered as she opened her right hand and her phone appeared with a pink flash.

"Yes, that will work." The voice replied.

"Follow me." Carolyn spoke as she floated toward the front of the school entrance and phased outside and moved toward the front school lawn. As I focused through the front school door glass windows to watch what was happening, Carolyn turned her phone to face the creature with the microphone on. Her phone momentarily had a blue glow suddenly appear around it and then the creatures voice was heard over the phone.

"No tricks?" It asked. She smiled and nodded.

While she steadied the phone although she didn't appear nervous I could tell she was as my ghost hearing could pick up her heartbeat even through the school doors.

"When you spoke of the lab accident earlier, whom were you referring to?" Carolyn asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You should know. I was referring to your husband." The voice replied. At that moment I also sensed Vlad's ghost signature. Although he was invisible, I could hear his heartbeat which placed him next to Aunt Carolyn. Now more than ever I wished both me and Nathan could be out there with them dealing with this ghost. I glanced at Nathan and he looked back at me. I could tell he was thinking the same exact thing.

"Why does this previous timeline regarding my husband's accident traumatize you so much? I am puzzled as this timeline no longer exists." Carolyn looked questioning at her phone. There was a moment of silence and then it replied.

"To explain why I feel what I feel I must share my history of how I arrived in your world." The voice fizzled as it was heard over the phone speaker.

"I saw an opening into your world to escape the terrors of my own. The light here does not hurt me, but then I saw that green beam of energy that reminded me of the light I fled from. I was terrified as it pulled me in thinking certain I was to die, but I didn't die. I was in a vortex of whirling masses of green for a moment. Then a room materialized in my vision. I saw you and the other lab student there as well. You also looked burned and suffering but then you are both later recovered. But it wasn't like that in the original timeline, the one before you came through. When I saw your husband's suffering, I saw the suffering of my people play out in my mind through my eyes." The creature was silent for a moment and continued.

"My people were once happy where they dwelt till the light of the sun became brighter than ever before. I fled to a cave to hide from burning brightness. I saw plant life around me start to whither and many of my kind did not make it to the caves before being burned by the light."

"I'm so sorry. That must've been very painful for you to experience." Carolyn responded.

"I felt so alone. So betrayed by this unknown light. I lost my family and I lost my beloved, my mate whom I was with." The voice became more distant. At times the tone of the voice seemed to barely able to hold back a sob.

In the distance I could hear the sounds of helicopters. I looked out the school window and sure enough, it was the white and blue streaked helicopters of the GIW (Guys In White). I was surprised they hadn't arrived sooner. Mr. Lancer always hit the emergency button at his desk or at the school office that connected to their office. Usually they were there within minutes unless increased ghost activity delayed their arrival.

"This is the GIW of Amity Park! Cease and desist all ghost activity and turn yourself in!" Boomed a voice over the speaker of the helicopter that was hovering overhead. Both Vlad and Carolyn looked up as Vlad materialized. The next moment there were ecto cannons being fired from the chopper towards them. Wait! Did they think Vlad and Carolyn had caused the raucous and were to be eliminated? The other ghost was invisible so of course that's what they thought! Never mind all the good that Carolyn had done for this town. Lancer didn't see who the GIW were firing at from where he was standing. I had to think fast. Nathan and I raised our hands at the same time. Lancer called on me.

"Yes Mr. Fenton?" Lancer replied dryly trying to hide slight irritation in his voice.

"I need to go to the bathroom." I cringed but that was all that I could think of. There was some quiet chuckling in the class. I overheard Dash saying 'Fenturd can't sit still for a minute.'

"Mr. Fenton, it is not recommended during these ghost events for anyone to leave the classroom by themselves." He went into his strict Vice Principal tone.

"I can go with him." Nathan suggested. Lancer rolled his eyes. Nathan was in very good standing with Mr. Lancer with his straight A's so Lancer would bend the rules somewhat if Nathan was involved.

"Very well. But see you come back here expediently!" Lancer was adamant. He didn't know who to fear more; the ghost or the GIW.

As soon as we both hurried out the door and just out of sight of Lancer's class, we went ghost and turned intangible, flying out the front door.

"Oh butter biscuits!" Vlad cursed angrily as Carolyn looked wide-eyed with disbelief.

"How could they think we're causing problems? After all the numerous times we've helped the school!" Carolyn was shocked and Vlad shook his head.

"Maybe they remembered the times of my less than stellar behavior." Vlad confessed as Carolyn looked at him frustrated. Vlad and the GIW at times had not always seen eye to eye especially after his castle got destroyed due to one of my pranks gone wrong. I sensed Carolyn float toward us.

"Stay out of sight!" I heard her caution us as we all headed back into the school remaining invisible. We all listened and the helicopters began to move away thinking they scared off the 'offending' ghosts. The GIW didn't always try to capture ghosts, but with a limited budget would often just scare them off. Vlad as the Mayor had worked it this way as he suspected he might become a target of them, but he had no idea Carolyn would also be targeted.

As the choppers were out of sight Vlad and Carolyn transformed back into their human forms as did we.

"What about the creature?" Nathan asked. Carolyn looked at her phone and heard nothing.

"I don't think the creature is in too much danger judging from the lack of competence of the GIW. I wish that we had found out more about it before the calvary arrived." She replied. Her voice echoed more that of sympathy than fear of the creature. Before we could even think further on the mysteries surrounding the creature an armored tank unexpectedly rolled up to the front of the school and two GIW's ran out and burst through the school doors. They seriously needed a new hobby!

Without warning an agent pulled out his bazooka and fired an ecto beam at an intercom that had a residual glow of blue spectral energy, causing the speaker to explode into sparks and thousands of pieces showering onto the floor.

"Threat neutralized." The agent then said holding his hand to the two way communicator that hung out of his ear. Mr. Lancer predictably bolted out of the classroom running down the hall where the now smoldering pile of intercom lay on the floor.

"The Hunt for Red October! What do you people think you're doing?!" Mr. Lancer ran up and reached down picking up a piece of the smoldering equipment.

"This intercom was detected having high residual ecto energy and needed to be neutralized." One of the agents responded in an unemotional official tone.

"This was a newly purchased intercom! Who is going to reimburse the school for the damages?" Lancer barked angrily.

"That's not our problem. Take it up with the Mayor!" The other GIW agent responded as they both turned and walked out of the school.

"Oh fudge buckets!" Vlad exclaimed as Lancer turned and saw Vlad standing in the hallway now wishing he had remained invisible.

"Well, you heard the man. I'm to take up the cost of replacing this intercom with the you apparently. How convenient to find you here." Lancer said with a smirk beneath his veil of anger as he pulled out a notepad, scribbled on it and handed it to Vlad.

"This also includes the cost of hiring the technician to install it." Lancer thrust the paper into Vlad's hand and stormed back to class. Nathan and I already hurried back to class to avoid any further wrath at the hands of Lancer.

"Remind me why I'm mayor again?" Vlad asked Carolyn.

"You wanted to teach Danny a lesson during his prank phase." Carolyn said with slight amusement.

"On another note I think I can actually sense the creatures' signature. The bad news is that I cannot currently sense the creature right at this moment." Vlad said looking visibly strained as the shadows under his eyes seemed to have darkened more.

"So that means the creature could be anywhere. Now this complicates things. We were making such progress and now it might decide to take out its frustration on anyone now that it's been fired at." Carolyn looked around as her eyes darted around to see any tell tale signs of the creature.

"I'm going to work with human resources regarding the hiring and training policies of the GIW. I can at least do that now since I am currently the mayor." Vlad breathed trying to contain his temper though he was visibly upset.

"Let's call it a day for now." Carolyn added with a tone of resignation as she took Vlad's arm and held it close to her. She always had a way to make Vlad less stressed.

"I guess we'll have to. I could use some winding down after the last couple of days." Vlad said closing his eyes momentarily. The two of them walked out of the school, their worn expressions pondering all the events of the day.

The Realm Beyond Time General POV

Several Observants were visiting Clockwork in the Realm Beyond Time. Clockwork looked nonplussed as he continued viewing events in the various time orbs that stood like orb shaped television screens.

"We cannot ignore the unforeseen presence of the woman and the other creatures from another universe into our reality. Though you claim to know everything you truly don't. You cannot anticipate beings from other realities, only what is in our universe and particularly what effects the Ghost Zone. Now see what this woman has done! She has wrought havoc on the timeline and drastically altered events!" An Observant complained floating towards Clockwork.

"As for the creatures, they have not caused any major disruption to the timeline. As for the woman, is it so terrible that Vladimir now has a better reality? Has the introduction of the woman caused such discontent that you feel that time and space will unravel?" Clockwork challenged the Observant.

"She has violated the law of temporal order! You are to enforce the order of time and deal with anyone that attempts to break its law." The Observant kept looking at the flickering pool of the image of Carolyn walking with Vlad.

"You ask me to enforce the law of time, yet if I do anything to interfere with events as they unfolded now I would also be in a direct violation of the duty given me. I am not the moral judge of the outcome of time's events, I only step in when the Ghost Zone may be threatened." Clockwork retorted. He changed into a baby version of himself as he floated looking mildly annoyed at the Observant.

"Yet you violated temporal law when you prevented Daniel Fenton's family, friends and teacher from being killed in the Nasty Burger explosion during the events of Dark Dan." The Observant challenged him trying to make him appear a hypocrite.

"Dark Dan existed out of an alternate future attempting to interfere with Daniel's past which would've eventually destroyed much of Amity Park and the Ghost Zone. In contrast, this woman has done nothing to threaten either realm. You are simply upset that a timeline has been changed. I suggest you let things play out. If her presence is a threat it will become revealed in time." Clockwork remained adamant at his post as he transformed back into his normal aged self.

"I expected that we might disagree. I therefore took the liberty of obtaining someone that can remove potential threats to the timeline. I would like to introduce you to the Time Wrangler." The Observant floated to the left of Clockwork and a shadowy figure appeared in the distance. He was a form entirely that of a dark brown cloudy smoke with two glowing yellow eyes which was all that could be seen of a face. A cloud formed above to resemble that of a cowboy hat.

"No need to introduce me, I hear Clockwork knows of me. He should also know that I am hired by the Observants to enforce the laws of time when they are broken regardless if there is any harm to the breaking of them. I have a job to do." The being floated over to Clockwork while keeping a distance. Clockwork had heard about this being and didn't agree with his practices.

"You, like the Observants feel the need to always intervene. You look at time like a parade, but I see all the twists and turns." Clockwork stared back at the Observant and the Time Wrangler with an unemotional expression. As always he was a master of keeping his cool even when being challenged.

"I really could care less what squabbles go on between you and the Observants. I have a job to do which involves dealing with the lady called Carolyn." The Time Wrangler responded in a nonchalant voice, his eyes glowing a brighter almost menacing shade of yellow.

"What are your plans with her?" Clockwork already knew the answer but was testing the reaction of the Time Wrangler.

"You should know. I'm simply going to find a way to send her back where she belongs...to her own reality." The Time Wrangler replied as he pulled a gold watch out of the midst of the dark brownish swirling smoke and swung it around with a note of smugness.

"Why not simply allow things to unfold as they should?" Clockwork responded in a vocal hint of a challenge.

"Because of the woman's interference, Vlad didn't spend years in the hospital. She had no right to interfere with history!" The Time Wrangler snapped as he put his pocket watch away.

"Who are you to decide whether Vlad should've spent those years in the hospital or not? I have seen Vlad's former timeline which caused much havoc to many, yet since Carolyn changed his outcome has he not been much more noble for the most part despite some transgressions?" Clockwork questioned. He tried to sound impartial but part of him was glad the timeline had changed for Vlad.

It's not my place to judge who does or doesn't get a raw deal, I'm just the one who is sent to enforce order in the laws of time. And I anticipate you'll tell me that's your job, but you only will do it when it is in the good of the Ghost Zone. I will do my job just because I am told to do it." The Time Wrangler's mouth finally appeared in the form of a yellowish Cheshire cat grin of a smile and then his mouth vanished. He turned away from Clockwork and the other Observants and vanished off into the distance.

"The Time Wrangler like the Observants are always so predictable." Clockwork thought to himself as everyone else left the Realm Beyond Time without saying another word.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 "The Fear of Flying"

**Klaatu: In the face of an unknown threat, Vlad needs to help Carolyn overcome her fear of flying and fear of heights. Danny and Nathan will do an 'unannounced' investigation into the Ghost Zone to do some detective work. This will be where Danny will first be threatened by the Time Wrangler. There will also be strange deja vu moments in this chapter as everyone begins to experience memories from alternate timelines. This will force Vlad's family and Danny to go to Clockwork to get some questions answered.**

**Meanwhile back at Vlad's castle an unknown visitor begins to create havoc and the mystery will deepen with some clues. A lot will be revealed in this chapter. I hope to get more chapters out soon. Until then...thanks for all your reviews and enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Checkmate or Endgame.

General POV

As Danny and Nathan walked home from school they purposely had to lay low after using ghost powers earlier. The GIW had left the area but it was a protocol that both Danny and Nathan had been trained in to stay human when GIW were spotted unless in an absolute emergency. Danny loved to go ghost and fly but learned the hard way about ignoring the rules onetime when he was flying and GIW spotted him and started to target him. It was a hard concept being under Vlad's roof but Danny respected the rules even if he felt Vlad was being a bit over protective.

Although Danny Phantom had done a lot for the town there was still much suspicion about ghosts and the general public was divided whether to trust one even though he had been helping the town fighting the ghosts making trouble. Unfortunately, since Danny Phantom was seen alongside Vlad Plasmius there was often guilt by association. Even though Vlad as Plasmius helped a lot of the time, he also sometimes brought trouble overstepping his bounds and thus the GIW had to step in. When Vlad first had his powers, even though Carolyn was there to keep him in line he would sometimes overstep his bounds especially on occasion when he thought Carolyn was being harassed by GIW and lost his temper firing energy bolts. The villainous streak was still strong in him but also a desire to do good even when it didn't serve his interests. This choice to try to do good was at times very hard for Vlad as his father taught him to be more selfish and opportunistic.

"I wonder why the GIW would pick on my dad this time. He was actually behaving himself and not causing any trouble." Nathan knew Vlad was no saint. His good behavior had mostly been a work in progress with Carolyn. He often ended up going to therapy to manage his temper and compulsive nature. Unfortunately for Carolyn, being married to Vlad also put her in the cross-hairs with GIW as she too was placed in the arena of guilt by association.

Danny and Nathan were walking home from school and talked about each others' dads. It became a touchy subject when it came to Vlad and Nathan knew how hard headed his father could be. Nathan hoped he would learn to be better when and if he became a parent in the future.

"I know you've heard this before but sometimes your dad can be a crazed up fruitloop." Danny reminded Nathan. Nathan just shook his head hoping the fruitloopiness wasn't inherited. Still he liked to remind Danny of 'little victories' when his dad would see reason.

"I know my dad can really be a pain, but he is learning to manage his temper better. My mom seems to know what to say to get him to calm down from time to time. I hate to see it when they fight about something but they also know how to agree to disagree." Nathan then cringed after what he said as he realized he started to sound like Jazz, Danny's sister. He knew Danny sometimes was irked by Jazz's need to psychoanalyze and tried to avoid anything that reminded Danny of this.

As Danny and Nathan turned the corner they were both stunned by what they saw; Carolyn was in her ghost form hanging on nervously to the middle part of an oak tree that was about 15 feet tall. Although she knew she could fly she would occasionally have panic attacks and have to land on anything that was close to her. Unfortunately that would also be high off the ground which didn't help her occasional fear of heights.

"Mom, what are you doing up in the tree?" Nathan said somewhat embarrassed.

"Your mother had a bout of flight and height anxiety." Vlad explained as he was hovering next to Carolyn who still had her eyes squeezed shut, both arms wrapped tight around the trunk of the tree.

"Anxiety attacks?" Danny asked. He never imagined Carolyn having anything remotely close to a panic disorder and was shocked at the sight. She had always appeared calm and collected around him.

"I've had them since I was a kid. I was on a light tower went it began to sway during an earthquake. I thought having superpowers of flight would've helped me overcome these attacks but I guess I was mistaken." She blushed with embarrassment. If the GIW saw her now she guessed they would hardly consider her to be a threat.

"I feel so stupid!" Carolyn complained as she kept peeking and then shutting her eyes again looking away from everyone.

"Dad, do you and mom think it's a good idea to be in ghost form after the GIW coming to town?" Nathan reminded them concerned they might be spotted by the agents.

"I know the rules son, but your mom needed the practice. She's always had a bit of difficulty with flying and I decided to make an exception in this case. I also felt it was at least safer for us since I called the city's human resources and use my mayoral authority to order the GIW to leave specific ghosts alone which I deem are not a threat." Vlad being the mayor did have its advantages at times. He still realized that his authority had limits and was careful not to push it too much. He looked at Carolyn and put a hand on her shoulder to help try to calm her down.

"Honey, breath and just look at me." Vlad whispered and Carolyn turned and looked at him. Her red eyes showing a look of disappointment with herself.

"Do you want me to get a ladder?" Danny asked carefully not trying very hard not to laugh.

"It's OK, you two just head back to the mansion. We'll be home shortly." Vlad looked back at Carolyn. She was perspiring but her eyes were remaining open and she was no longer hyperventilating.

The two boys looked at each other and headed back to the mansion. Fortunately it was only a little over a block away from the school and the walk helped them to unwind. Meanwhile Vlad took his hand and gently placed it under Carolyn's chin as she looked at him.

"Baby, it's OK. Just forget about where you are and keep focused on me. Listen to the tone of my voice." Vlad held her cheek and smiled at her. His glowing red eyes that would've normally be scary to most people only helped to sooth her as his ghost energy from his core helped to calm her. His energy seemed to always have this effect on her, instinctively helped her to relax.

"Maybe we should stick to walking for a while." Carolyn joked with a slightly nervous laugh.

"Sweetheart, we need to get over your fear of flying and of heights. You know you have the power to fly, so tell me what you are specifically afraid of." Vlad questioned speaking in a low soft tone to help keep her relaxed and focused.

"Well, to be honest I'm often afraid of unconsciously transforming while I'm in flight and not being able to change back thus injuring myself or worse." Carolyn confessed. Vlad could feel her heart beating fast as she was trying to calm down. He softly threaded his fingers with hers and wrapped his left arm around her hugging her. He slowly began to lift her as he talked to her distracting her.

"Ah...Daniel actually had a problem transforming while he was flying and almost got killed. He was being attacked by a ghost that was draining his energy. Are you afraid of this happening to you?" Vlad was afraid this might happen. When Carolyn heard about Danny recalling his encounters with Dazzler and the near death experiences he had it exasperated her concerns about flight as well. She was always a bit nervous with flight.

"Don't you ever worry about this happening to you...about some ghost attacking you or you just transform without thinking? Maybe we should have parachutes attached to us. OK, I know that sounded a bit ridiculous but I didn't grow up with this power. We still don't fully understand these powers as much as we think and having some kind of back up system isn't such a bad idea." Carolyn had the powers for 20 years but she had also knew that with age, normal abilities can sometimes weaken. There was no medical handbook for dealing with human hybrid ghost powers.

"I think about it often. I understand studying our DNA so far, it appears we actually have a type of strong ion charge that remains in our bodies and forms around us to help us fly. Because the energy from our bodies feeds this ion field thanks to our scrambled DNA, we will probably have this with us for the rest of our lives so long as we don't try some experiment like Daniel did that changed his DNA back to fully human." Vlad tried to explain a short scientific explanation to help Carolyn feel that she wouldn't ever lost her powers during flight. All the time they were talking she didn't realize she had already lifted off the oak tree and was almost home. Although Vlad had been holding onto her hand, she was basically flying on her own power. Before she realized it, they were over 100 feet in the air and slowly descending down toward the mayoral mansion

"Just keep looking at me." Vlad reminded her as they gently floated down to the ground. He put his arms fully around her and kissed her on the cheek.

"You did good." He smiled as they both transformed into human.

"Thank you. You saved me from some humiliation of having to call the fire department to get me down." She laughed.

"Actually, I believe it was you that did the saving for me about over 20 years ago." Vlad said as he took his hand and softly moved a stray strand of hair from her face.

"I didn't exactly save you, you still got hit by the portal blast back at the college." She reminded him.

"But you saved me in another way. You kept me from having to spend years rotting in a hospital. And even when I continued to act like a jerk at times at was hitting on Maddie, you still stuck with me. When I got in trouble with the law you helped me overcome my stupidity. You helped me learn to understand and adapt to my powers." Vlad marveled at how much Carolyn had done for him. In a way she was like a guardian angel that came when he needed one most.

"Sometimes I feel guilty when I think about Dani and how I treated her in the other timeline. I wonder now with time changed if she will ever even exist?" Vlad added with a note of sadness. He despised how stupid and obsessed with having a son in another reality had caused him to treat so cruelly his own little girl he helped to create in that reality.

"Dani can still exist. Danny and I talked about it at great length. He misses not having known Dani. It was a long and hard decision but he decided to voluntarily donate his DNA. I can search my phone for any clips that show precisely the conditions that created Dani and try to duplicate those conditions. The exception is the embryo would grow in me instead of a test tube." Carolyn replied.

"Are you certain about this?" Vlad asked to get an affirmation from Carolyn that she as well as Danny had thought this through.

"Danny saw that reality and he really missed not knowing Dani. He seemed very adamant about it and I'm willing to go through the medical procedure to make it happen. The good news is because I will birth her instead of using just ecto DNA in a test tube, she will be just as stable as us." Carolyn smiled. Seeing how Dani suffered with being a less than stable clone in the other timeline was difficult to watch. Vlad felt comforted to know that Dani would be a totally stable human with hybrid ghost powers.

As they entered the mansion Carolyn walked slightly ahead and noticed there was a painting that was slightly crooked. Carolyn was first to notice it and smirked silently at the sight of it. It had a picture of Vlad dressed as Napoleon with Carolyn behind him carrying a basket. She considered it to be one of the sillier paintings Vlad donned on the walls of the castle.

"Vlad still has to work on his visions of grandeur." She thought silently. Vlad's father had often caused Vlad to feel the need to be a great leader and perfect at everything. Fortunately the therapy was helping him overcome his need to be thought of as overly self important. "Baby steps." She thought as she straightened the picture though she was tempted to remove it from the wall but didn't.

"Was there an earthquake around here recently?" Carolyn asked Vlad as he noticed her adjusting the painting.

"Not to my knowledge. I didn't see anything on the news. Maybe Maddie jumped up and hit the picture while chasing a mouse." Vlad answered dismissively, a bit puzzled. He had noticed Maddie had been a bit jumpy lately. This was expected since the appearance of the entity.

Vlad looked over to an end table and noticed the blinking light of the answering machine with a list of 30 missed calls.

"That's odd, normally I don't get that many calls at the castle. Usually my companies or castle staff know to contact my cell phone directly if I'm needed." When Vlad hit the machine, each call was from one of the ghost crew.

Master Vlad, we need you come here urgently! We've been overwhelmed with strange happenings at the castle!" Said the voice of Martha, one of the castle ghost maids. It took a lot to scare and puzzle the crew who had seen quite a lot in their lifetimes. Another voice came on. "Master Vlad, the clocks have all been turned backward and the books in the study were stacked in a weird formation. We aren't sure what is going on but it is becoming most unsettling." That was the voice of George, who was his main to do man from cleaning, cooking to driving Vlad around in his limousine. He chose to stay behind as he had a gut feeling to do so and Vlad and he learned never to ignore Georges' gut feelings about anything.

"Baby we need to check out what's going on." Carolyn looked at Vlad. Vlad rolled his eyes up at the thought. He still had mountains of paperwork to go through as the Mayor as well as some of the latest proposals from one of his companies Axion.

"Snicker doodles! Why is this all happening now?" Vlad had a suspicion it was related to the entity. As he thought on the mysterious creature it still puzzled him why the being had decided to invade their abode recently. He kept thinking of all the trips to the Ghost Zone. Nothing added up and the more he though on it, the less sense it was making.

"Sweetheart, can I have a look at your phone?" Vlad had a theory, that the being was doing all of this. When Carolyn was first pulled into this reality, this entity may have been pulled along as well. He looked carefully at the first clip when Carolyn arrived through the portal. The flowing green beams of light was a massive swirl that eventually coned outward as the science lab came into view. Just at the moment before the clip ended was a momentary shadow. Vlad replayed the clip and then slowed it to frame by frame at the last few seconds where the blur of the image appeared in the upper left hand side of the screen. As he froze the image, it was blurry but closely resembled the strange entity creature that Danny and Nathan had described.

"Just as I thought, whatever this thing is it came into our universe through the same portal that brought you here." Vlad looked at Carolyn. He showed her the paused image which she studied carefully.

"Oh my God, there are some other clips I just found on here. There is no date as to when they showed up, they are simply here." Carolyn typed on her phone and showed a clip of Vlad's Wisconsin lab with the needle registering at the red danger mark. A computer voice came on. "Warning, the Ecto Filtration Unit will explode if not changed in 15 seconds." As the warning needle shuttered in the red, the lab siren was going off and Vlad saw himself as Plasmius in the clip go intangible before the entire lab and castle went up in a mushroom cloud explosion. Then the clip ended.

"Butter biscuits! I can't believe I was so careless in the other timeline!" Vlad complained to himself just as Danny and Nathan opened the front door and came in.

"Did we miss anything. You two look like you've just seen a ghost, no pun intended." Danny commented as he looked at Vlad and Carolyn.

"In a way we have Little Badger. We're looking at an alternate timeline where my lab was destroyed." Vlad said as his hands began to feel a cold sweat just at the thought of what he and Carolyn were viewing.

"You mean other than when the GIW tried to destroy your castle when you were accused of harboring ghosts?" Nathan asked as Danny gave Nathan a sharp jab with his elbow. Carolyn quickly jumped in before Vlad could react.

"What I don't get is why these timelines keep popping up. It makes no sense." Carolyn looked at the details of the video clip which was timestamped of just appearing only minutes ago before she found it on her phone.

"Not the typical behavior for a smartphone I guess." Nathan said sarcastically as he was growing rather annoyed of the whole ordeal as the mystery began to jar at his nerves as well. He was unsettled at the thought of another reality, one in which he didn't even exist. It almost felt threatening to him. It didn't make sense but these phone clips had caused him to develop a deep fear of time starting to unravel and sending him to oblivion.

"We just need to get to the bottom of this, and since this relates to alternate timelines I know just the being we need to visit." Vlad concluded.

"Clockwork." Danny sighed to himself remembering the alternate timeline of Dark Dan that he'd hope Vlad would NEVER discover.

"We'll also need to visit our home in Wisconsin because now Vlad's castle is having weird stuff happening." Carolyn added and Danny's face fell. He was looking forward to spending time with Sam and Tucker a few days this week as well as with his family on the weekend. Nathan also looked forward to playing games at the arcade with Danny and his friends and his face also reflected a look of disappointment at the turn of events.

"Wait, how do you expect to get to Wisconsin? Flights are grounded and it's too far to teleport or even fly as ghosts." Nathan asked. There was a bitter Polar Vortex that had just touched the edge of Wisconsin but was predicted to move all the way down the upper eastern states and would soon affect Amity Park as well with snow and bitter cold.

"We can avoid all this by traveling through a makeshift portal I put together here at the mansion. This will allow us to reach the castle portal as a shortcut. This is safer than asking Jack to use his as he doesn't know we're half ghosts and would insist I use the Fenton Speeder." Vlad explained.

"Wont we have to worry about running into some unfriendly ghosts such as Walker who always tries to arrest us for something?" Danny asked. He was tired of the countless times he experienced of getting caught and having to break out of Walker's prison.

"I'm glad you asked. Carolyn has discovered something that will help us to avoid a lot of problems with the ghosts." Vlad replied and looked to Carolyn as she continued to explain their plan.

"The portal to the Ghost Zone isn't just a portal to the ghost dimension, it is a gateway of hyperspace in which the Ghost Zone exists inside of this space. If we travel in this area just outside but next to the Ghost Zone we can see inside the Ghost Zone but ghosts will not be able to see or detect us. Once we spot Vlad's football we can jump down and enter the portal that connects to the Wisconsin castle thus avoid bumping into unwanted ghosts that would seek to harm or detain us or both." Carolyn explained as plainly as she could. She was tempted to explain the hyperspace dimension in more detail but knew that would end up being a long physics lecture that she preferred to avoid.

"Sam and Tucker wont be too happy. I better call Mom and Dad right away." Danny thought to himself. This was the monkey wrench in what was about to otherwise be the perfect weekend.

"We'll leave tonight, I already spoke to Mr. Lancer and he gave me homework assignments over the phone you can do while in Wisconsin." Carolyn added as she saw Danny's look and was sympathetic. She knew he looked forward to the weekend with his friends but this crisis was going to need all hands on deck.

"We'll only be in Wisconsin hopefully no more than a couple of days and then we can come right back which would mean returning Saturday." Carolyn hoped as Vlad looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She was being a bit optimistic but chose to remain hopeful that their visit to the castle would be a short one.

Danny and Nathan went to room they shared and Danny pulled out his phone to speed dial his parents.

He crossed his fingers with what he was about to tell them. Once ghosts were involved he knew his dad would insist on coming so he had to have a strategy to talk him out of it. He knew Amity needed professional ghost hunters on call and he hoped he could convince his dad where his ghost hunting skills was needed most...Amity Park. When he dialed his mom answered and he gulped.

"Mom, I have a little bad news. We have some ghost problems at Vlad's castle and have to go back to check it out. I got my homework from Mr. Lancer and I should still be home by Saturday." Danny sighed.

"If there's ghosts we should be helping Vlad fight them. It's what we do best." Maddie was sounding excited about tackling ghosts in another town. She looked forward to trips from time to time especially when dealing with ghosts. Danny was still searching an excuse and tried to change the subject.

"I know. Vlad likes to do things his way when ghost fighting. I really wished I could come home and just spend more time with you." Danny lamented. He knew his grades were improving however but missed the way things used to be when he was at home, but he knew his dad seemed to be an intense distraction when an invention would blow up as well as the temptation to ghost fight all hours of the day and night. Right now wasn't a good time to dwell on that too much.

"Oh, that's OK sweetie, you'll get to be home with us for a whole week when Spring Break hits a few weeks from now. Are you sure that Vlad doesn't need our help in fighting off any ghosts?" Maddie was very understanding and wanted to help. Danny had to think fast on his feet.

"Well Amity Park needs you where you are. Besides, Vlad has developed some excellent ghost fighting tech and feels it is better if you and dad stay where you are. If the ghosts figure you left town they will surely overrun the place. The GIW aren't any real threat to them." Danny defended hoping the logic would be enough to convince her.

"We could split up. Your mom could fight the ghosts with Vlad and Carolyn while I help hold down the fort here." Jack piped in. This was something that Danny hadn't prepared for and he hoped his training with Vlad would also work in the art of persuasion. He crossed his fingers.

"The whole Masters family will be ghost fighting at the castle. If one of you leaves that will place Amity strategically at a disadvantage." Danny hoped this would be enough to convince his parents to remain at Amity. He dreaded coming to a crossroad where he would have to reveal his and the Masters' family ghost halves.

"What about traveling to Wisconsin? I saw the news and the Polar Vortex has started to move down there and eventually it is expected to come here within a day or so." Maddie was thorough.

"Aunt Carolyn found an area through the portal that we can shortcut through using Vlad's Ghost Portal he has set up at the mansion." Danny wanted to explain further but Maddie shot back.

"What about some of the ghosts in the Ghost Zone? You know what a trouble some of them can be." Maddie didn't need to remind him. He knew it first hand!

" Aunt Carolyn found an area known as hyperspace that exists just outside the Ghost Zone that we can travel without being detected by any of the ghosts. Apparently the Ghost Zone is encased inside this larger dimension of hyperspace." Danny replied.

"Well it looks like Carolyn and Vlad have really thought this through. But you make sure to call us if you need anything." Maddie replied in a somewhat over-protective tone.

"OK, love you."

Love you too son."

Danny hung up and speed dialed Sam's house. No one picked up so he left a message that an emergency came up and he wouldn't be back at Amity till around Saturday. He called Tucker and Tuckers' dad answered.

"Yeah, Mr. Foley, can you tell Tucker that there was an emergency at Vlad's castle and I wont be able to get together till Saturday?" Danny exhaled a sigh a relief that Tucker's dad answered as he knew he didn't really want to hear either Sam or Tucker complain to him at the moment.

"Yes, I'll be sure to tell him." Mr. Foley replied. Danny thanked him and hung up plopping on his bed. Nathan knocked on the door and Danny lazily opened the door with his ghost powers. He felt exhausted just worrying about his friends' reaction to the news.

"You better be sure to pack some thermals Badger. Mom told me that Madison Wisconsin is a warm minus 37 degrees outside right now and that's before wind chill!" Nathan told Danny as he himself was packing heavy gear in his suitcase. Nathan also planned on wearing one of the parkas as he anticipated the Ghost Zone was known to be directly affected by the human world and thus the Polar Vortex would probably make it cold there also. He had hoped he was wrong.

"Please tell me you're joking?" Danny replied somewhat stunned by the news.

"Carolyn just told me the temperature has dropped to minus 40 and the weather experts expect it to be minus 50 by tonight. Pack extra warm! That means you too Little Badger!" Vlad said over the intercom that was in Nathan's and Danny's room.

"Great! We might as well stop by Antarctica on our way there!" Danny said sarcastically.

"Antarctica is actually warmer, its only minus 6 or 7 degrees there at the moment!" Nathan responded. Danny's jaw dropped when he heard the news. He wondered if the weather ghost known as Vortex had gotten loose again and was getting even with being captured again. This Polar Vortex sounded crazy but it's odd behavior that it occasionally weakened and dipped down into the US was becoming frightfully more commonplace.

"Wonderful!" Danny groaned as he stuffed extra gear into his suitcase and they both eventually

made their way downstairs to prepare to head to the mansion's makeshift ghost portal.

Everyone stood at the portal and was dressed in parkas looking slightly overheated as they prepared to enter the Ghost Zone. Vlad's makeshift portal was ingenious and a joint design of him and Carolyn along with some tech staff at Axion. Everyone crossed their fingers as they turned into their ghost halves and began to float toward the portal. When Danny and Nathan turned, their parka's colors went from orange to green color. Vlad and Carolyn's outfits were still basically the same except their capes were now basically the parka's with an extra thermal layer beneath them. Carolyn never understood why their outfits were so different from Danny and Nathan's.

Vlad's POV

We entered the Ghost Zone's green swirling mass and then immediately flew up to where the atmosphere of the ghost zone thinned and then Carolyn gave us the thumbs up as we entered a darker region that became almost like the color of a late evening twilight bluish sky. This was hyperspace. It was still fairly temperate like the Ghost Zone but I definitely could fill a chill as the Polar Vortex was affecting it as well as the Ghost Zone. Fortunately the chill was only a slight difference of a few degrees cooler which made wearing the parkas a bit on the warm side. I suspected the inter dimensional properties of the Zone was able to act as a shield as far as keeping out most of the frigid outside air of the Polar Vortex. At least it was doing that for now. As we all huddled together Carolyn pointed toward my floating purple giant football off in the distance where the castle portal was. What would've taken an hour and a half to fly in a commercial jet only took a few minutes of travel to get to in the hyperspace dimension next to the Ghost Zone. Both dimensions acted as wormholes in that space was bent to create a shortcut to the other ghost portal in Wisconsin. Carolyn and I understood the physics but we spared the kids having to hear about it at the moment.

Once we flew up to my portal I typed in a code on my Rolex wristband and the portal doors opened to let us in. The minute we entered the castle we all noticed immediately how much colder it was than when we were in the ghost zone. I had notified the servants to heat up the castle before we arrived. I had Maddie wrapped in a blanket in the cat carrier but I could tell from her meows she was noticing the cold as well. I hovered over the ghost shield in the lab and turned up the shield strength to 50 percent as the shield also helped keep out the extra cold drafts that were unavoidable is it is such a large castle. As we all transformed back into our human selves to check how the temperature felt around us. Although we had thermometers, wind chill could make it feel colder and I was concerned about Maddie. I experienced a slight shiver when a draft of cold air whooshed by me.

"Nathan, I need you to put some extra strength ecto fire logs on the main castle fireplace." I knew the ecto treated logs burned significantly longer and were much hotter than the ordinary fire logs. With this Polar Vortex bearing down on this, we would need all the heat we could muster.

"I'm on it!" Nathan replied as he transformed back into ghost form. Chores were much faster when flying and using ghost powers.

"Daniel, help George out with the kitchen and get us all some warm cocoas." I spoke and Daniel gave me a thumbs up and flew toward the kitchen.

Carolyn and I shivered a bit as we looked at each other and decided to transform back till the castle got warmer. We then grabbed some extra parkas and threw them over our caped suits and flew with the suitcases up to the master bedroom. On the way there I noticed a hallway clock was turned backwards so the hands were facing the wall just as the crew told me about earlier. I instructed them to leave them the way they were so I could have a closer look at them. I turned the clock around but saw nothing else unusual about it and it's time was still accurate. I then flew up to the main ballroom and we both could hear the wind outside and were thankful we didn't have to be outside in any of that mess. Wisconsin winters were cold even without a Polar Vortex.

"Honey, why don't you unpack while I check out some things." She smiled as I gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Even in her ghost form what others might have seen as a bit scary I only saw as a vision of loveliness as she smiled and floated down the hallway from the main master bedroom. I decided to delay unpacking and do some exploring of my own.

When I flew to the study I was stunned at what I saw: piles of books were all neatly stacked on the floor around my desk in a form of an octagon. Each pile consisted about 16 books. It made no sense to me and I decided to just leave them the way they were and let the family look at it. I had hoped they could draw any theories or clues as to why this being, whoever or whatever it was that was responsible, would do such a thing. Although this creature seemed to have difficulty interacting in our reality, it apparently found a way to move things even though it couldn't communicate without some technology and couldn't fully materialize. Despite this it was able to become tangible enough to pick up and move things. Assuming this was the creature that did this and not someone or something else. I left the study and flew toward the kitchen when I saw George walking up to me.

Master Plasmius, so good of you to come. I have Master Daniel helping me with the cocoa. Although I assured him I could take care of it he was insistent." George complained. George was set in his ways and his ways involved being one of the main cooks who liked to prepare everything his way, especially the hot cocoa.

"Daniel just needs to unwind. He gets a great stress release back home preparing treats for the family. Just indulge him for now." I explained. My Little Badger did love to cook. I suppose my pastry curses unconsciously made him obsess on baking all the more.

"Very well, Master Plasmius. I do wish to remind you again about the strange goings ons here. As you know the clocks were turned around and the books in your study were stacked in a very odd manner. I asked the entire staff and no one saw who had done this. The being, whoever it was did it while no one was present in various rooms of the castle. I will attest I often checked your Ghost Portal and it remained locked." George was a very meticulous worker. He was practically obsessive-compulsive when it came to double and triple checking things.

"We've also had some strange happenings at the mansion back at Amity Park." I replied. I knew it wasn't surprising that the creature would come to the castle. Most ghosts can sense another ghosts' signature and visitations by unannounced 'guest' was more rather frequent despite my reputation. One ghost, the annoying Kempler kept appearing from time to time and begging me to be his friend. Carolyn told me to go easy on him as he was just lonely and hadn't developed social skills in the Ghost Zone. I was rather rude to him but he could be so clingy at times! Maybe Carolyn should be a ghost counselor instead of a ghost fighter since she prefers trying to psychoanalyze the creatures to a fight.

"Let the staff know the ghost shield will remain up at all times during this Polar Vortex event. We brought extra supplies just in case you might be short in stock." I knew it didn't hurt to bring some extra groceries. Although the ghost staff didn't need to eat, they often enjoyed doing so out of pleasure more than anything else.

"Thank you sir, and I do hope we are able to get to the bottom of this." George replied.

"The family will be probably going into the Ghost Zone tomorrow and then leave on Saturday." I knew George wouldn't be happy hearing that. He along with the others enjoyed our company and missed us when we were away.

"I understand sir. Do be careful and we'll keep an eye on everything. Excuse me while I check on Master Daniels' cocoa confections." George said as he then flew toward the kitchen.

While I was alone I looked at my phone and opened up a sensor reader app that read various fields and their strengths in the immediate area. I noticed everything appeared normal except there was an occasional spike in the magnetic field. I hadn't noticed it before and then the spike disappeared and the line was fairly straight with only mild fluctuations. Things appeared normal at the moment. At least as normal as expected for a castle with a ghost staff and occupants of half-ghost hybrids. As I looked up from my phone I saw Carolyn floating toward me. Somehow she managed to change her outfit so her cape turned to a silken covering and her dress transformed into a long flowing silken dress. She looked stunning.

"How did you manage to change how your ghost outfit looks?" I asked as she floated alluringly toward me with her half-lidded eyes.

I found that if I concentrated hard enough the ecto energy reacted to my mind and produced the desired effect. Do you like it?" She asked as she twirled around in the air like a fairy princess.

"You look lovely, my dear!" I said as she flew toward me and wrapped her arms around my neck. It was times like this I wish Carolyn and I had the place all to ourselves but I had to stay focused.

"I hear Danny makes a mean batch of cocoa. I think it's ready down in the kitchen. I saw Nathan head that way." She said as she rubbed her fingers in my hair.

"Well let's see how good the cocoa is." I said as I smiled and we both turned around and flew toward the kitchen. Floating down I noticed our cat Maddie running ahead of us looking like she was after a mouse. Maybe it was a ghost mouse as I never saw the creature she was chasing. Maybe Martha left some catnip out and Maddie was imagining things. She ran up to a wall and began to stand on her hind legs while clawing at the wall. We left her to her little chase as we entered the kitchen to see the entire staff, Daniel and Nathaniel already sitting down at the kitchen round table. I spotted a couple of cups of cocoa just like I preferred them, with whip cream and a light drizzle of chocolate on the top. I had a strong feeling we would need the extra calories for what we were about to face.

"Master Plasmius, Daniel just finished making the cocoa. I offered to help one more time but he was insistent as you know. I tasted one and was rather impressed with the young lad's skill." George confessed as the other staff smiled as arrived at the kitchen. I saw the maids Patricia and Martha along with Niane. Each was busy cleaning up something and everyone was happy to see us.

"Family, I wanted to suggest we rest tonight and head into the Ghost Zone during the early morning hours. I understand that Walker usually does prison drills with his guards during the morning hours and shouldn't be on patrol until the later afternoon. We can hopefully avoid him as we try to use hyperspace to shortcut to the Realm Beyond Time." It would've been nice if we somehow had direct access to hyperspace but we could only get there by briefly traveling into the Ghost Zone.

"I hope you're right about Walker, Fruitloop." Daniel tend to call me this silly name when he wasn't sure about my reasoning. I had to constantly convince I had all bases covered.

"I do have informants that check out the Ghost Zone for me and have never failed me yet. They tell me that Walker has a morning routine so I plan on us avoiding any contact with him." I looked at Daniel and he smirked as he sipped his cocoa. He had been in Walker's jail too many times to count so I could understand it was a sensitive subject for him.

"I hope the jump to hyperspace is closer at this end of the Ghost Zone." Nathaniel added. Apparently Daniel's concerns seemed almost contagious. Nathaniel hardly ever worried about a run in with Skulker but he had years more experience with ghost powers than Daniel and was very quick to be stealthy and avoid getting caught.

"I hope this cocoa helps to make me sleepy. I'm a bit wound up thinking about traveling into the Ghost Zone." Carolyn added as she slowly took a sip of the beverage. She had never gotten caught by Walker or anyone in the Ghost Zone. Again, she like me had the advantage of years of experience developing ghost powers. She still had a difficulty with transforming at times but thankfully had no fear of flying or heights at least while traveling the Ghost Zone. It may have been the ecto energy she felt in there that tended to relax her. She seemed especially confident whenever she was there. Now if I could just get her to get over her fear when traveling in the normal world as a ghost.

"I think Carolyn and I will retire early. We can get some rest and be ready to get up at about 7 am tomorrow. Until then, ta everyone." Carolyn and I floated back over to the master bedroom. I turned around to the boys.

"You two don't stay up late. We plan on entering the portal tomorrow at 7:30 am sharp." I reminded them. Nathaniel did his famous scout's salute and Daniel did a thumbs up. I wasn't worried. I knew they were equally motivated to get some sleep so as to be wide awake to avoid even the scent of Walker or any other ghost ready to make trouble.

Carolyn and I flew into the master bedroom and transformed into our human selves and we quickly got into night apparel and dove into the covers as the room had taken longer to heat up and was still a bit chilly. I quickly turned on a heater to help get it warmer as we both huddled and snuggled up next to each other to keep warm. She and I both had warm ghost cores which also helped immensely in keeping us warmer. As I looked at Carolyn's hair I noticed it was faded somewhat more to it's natural color of auburn. Her hair was the same color as Madeline's' hair, only she preferred to dye it darker with henna. Lately she hadn't time to keep up with dying it but it looked heavenly just the same. I was getting in a romantic mood when we both heard a loud meowing outside the bedroom.

"You've got to be kidding, Maddie is so spoiled!" Carolyn looked at me with a smirk. I didn't feel like getting up so I used a carefully channeled low level beam of ecto energy from my hand and turned the doorknob to let her in. She quickly jumped up onto the bed and snuggled between us. She was very possessive of me and buried herself in the covers to get warm.

"She's definitely your cat." Carolyn commented before she closed her eyes. I thought I might have a much harder time getting to sleep but sound of purring was all it took before I too finally passed out for the evening.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 Into the Ghost Zone

**Klaatu: Even more will be revealed in this chapter about the creature. It is going to get even more intense as the creature does more messing around with the family. More about the creatures' origins will be revealed. And this chapter will have Sam and Tucker in it as well. As for the Polar Vortex, I read a lot of fan discussion along with statements made that place Amity Park somewhere possibly by Minnesota which is generally affected when the Polar Vortex decides to break off and heading south into the US.**

**As I write this story, I wish to pause to add an interesting insight into why some ghosts look the way they do. More specifically I toyed with fan theories as to why Vlad and Danny look so different as ghosts. I like the theories I have heard so far. Among them was Crimsondrop7, a fanfiction writer who proposed that "a ghost's individual history/death/job/obsession more so denotes their 'costume.' And a very thorough explanation by FortressMaximus93 who described Vlad's power hungry and manipulative nature reflected in the clothes he designed and matched his vampire like appearance. A complete discussion on this is on a Danny fandom Wiki **

**at wiki/Thread:23657 **

**I wish to thank everyone who participated in this discussion. This was indeed a challenge for me and I am grateful to all the help I received.**

**And in returning to this story, there will be new revelations and old timelines being confronted in this chapter. The being will test its limits to try to affect more hardware and electronics. It will be getting more intense so prepare for a wild ride. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Checkmate or Endgame.**

Vlad's POV

Morning came too quickly as everyone got ready and met down at the kitchen getting last minute breakfast bars before the journey. My hair was sticking starting to stick upwards as Plasmius and I wasn't even in ghost form yet! I refused to worry about it and laughed off the look in the mirror. I should've been used to my hair going upward into points since it does that as Plasmius.

We all transformed and floated down to the lab. This was going to be a rough start, fortunately George came to the rescue and floated down to the lab with some snacks. I internally laughed as I saw Daniel looking a bit more tired than usual and guessed he probably stayed a bit later than he should have. Nathaniel seemed a bit tired but has never needed as much sleep mostly due to having been born as a half-ghost infused with ecto energy from both parents.

"I made extra sandwiches for everyone. I know how much of an appetite detective work can cause. I wish you well on your journey." George had some grilled cheese sandwiches. It was a special cheese Carolyn and I helped to develop that didn't go bad if not refrigerated for a day. The reason for this was it contained some ecto energy as our ghost cores needed to be maintained as well. I also infused the cheese slices with multivitamin extract. I knew much Daniel hated the special multivitamins I made so I added it to the cheese which helps to mask the taste.

"Thanks George, and be sure to let the staff know that the portal door is to remain secured. I have a remote key and I can also contact you if there is a problem." I always kept the portal door secured but I still felt comfortable reminding George. It was a ritual I learned as growing up to always remind each other even if it seemed over obsessive. Dad never tolerated mistakes.

"Yes sir and sir...do be careful." George added as he floated away. He was also obsessive about our safety and he felt obligated to remind us. I looked at Daniel and noticed he was wearing extra thermals. He looked almost like an Eskimo going into the Ghost Zone.

"You warm enough Little Badger?" I asked smirking. The castle had already warmed up considerably however I knew sometimes Daniel's ice ghost core would act up even when he followed Frostbites' advice to expel the extra energy.

"I feel fine Fruitloop and plan on staying that way. Besides, if there's a Polar Vortex in this dimension I'll be prepared for it." Of course he could always use his ghost shield to keep warm but I decided to humor him. The Ghost Zone was affected to a degree by the outside world as they are interconnected but the internal energy in this dimension acts much like the ghost shield in keeping out some of the cold air from the outside world. I left concerns about the Ghost Zone temps as now I had to focus on giving instructions to everyone.

"Nathaniel, you and Carolyn will be paired off and going to the West half of the Ghost Zone to look for any anomalies on your way to the Realm Beyond Time. Daniel and I will go to the East half of the zone. I mapped the closest entrance from hyperspace at your end of the Ghost Zone to the Realm Beyond Time and uploaded it to your phones." I explained.

"Honey, you sure that's such a good idea?" Carolyn asked. She was concerned because she got lost very easily but Nathaniel would be with her and he had an excellent sense of direction.

"Don't worry mom, I know the Ghost Zone backwards and forwards." Nathaniel assured. She still seemed concerned.

"It's alright sweetheart. Nathaniel will be with you...you will be fine. Besides, we can cover more ground this way and if one of us gets in trouble the others will be able available to rescue should the situation arise. We will be invisible to all ghosts while we are in hyperspace though we will still be able to see them, however stay on your guard. Once you enter the Ghost Zone at the coordinates I gave you there will be a brief time you will be viewable by ghosts. Head straight to the Realm Beyond Time and do no engage in any contact by ghosts even if they appear friendly. Understood?" I explained.

"Yes dad." Nathaniel knew that admonition was directed mostly at him. Sometimes he could be more foolhardy than Daniel with the curious nature to explore things in the Ghost Zone but I knew with his mother there he would be on his best behavior.

"That goes for you too, Daniel. Stay close to me and try to keep up as I will be heading to the Ghost Zone at top speed to reduce the risk of us getting seen." I knew how cocky Daniel could be about touring around in the Ghost Zone. He has a few grudge matches with Technus among others in the Zone but he needed to stay on focus.

"I read you Cheesehead." Daniel replied. That was one of the nicknames I earned when giving orders. I actually preferred it to Fruitloop.

We all separated but then Carolyn flew over to me and gave me a big hug and a kiss. Daniel rolled up his eyes and covered his face. It was still very awkward for him to see Carolyn do this as she was the spitting image of Madeline. At least it wasn't his mom that I was hitting on so much in the earlier timeline. I flipped the switch that opened the portal door to the swirling green mass of energy that comprised the Ghost Zone. I eyed the area of hyperspace just in a short distance above us with is clear bluish like sky rippling almost like waves above the Ghost Dimension.

As Carolyn flew back with Nathaniel and they were on their way veering to the left of us as we entered the portal and we veered to the right. I shut the portal doors and we were on our way. As we flew we noticed some ghost bats in a swarm flying past us. One came very close to Daniel almost hitting him. He immediately turned intangible out of instinct.

"Geez, I wonder what's got them spooked?" Daniel looked puzzled as was I about their erratic behavior. I saw the veil of hyperspace about 100 yards above us. As close as it was it wasn't close enough. Then we both noticed a strange swirling gray cloud on our way up to the edge of the Ghost Zone. It was right in our direction towards hyperspace so it wouldn't be out of the way to investigate it...briefly.

"Get out your camera and take a picture of that cloud, but don't get too close to it." I cautioned Daniel. He flipped out his phone and took some images as we floated toward it.

"Maybe we should just hurry up to the rim of hyperspace and not worry about the cloud." Daniel responded. I was a bit surprised as he usually had a curiosity about strange phenomenon in the Ghost Zone.

"Something got you spooked Little Badger?" I said, pun intended.

"It's just I sense Skulker is not far from here. I memorized his heartbeat and he has a bit of a smell about him." Daniel made it a habit to memorize all the various heartbeats of the ghosts he has had to fight. They actual are so unique they are like an audio version of fingerprints.

"Don't worry Daniel, you're with me and Skulker is one of my hire even though I have had to fire him a few times. I still give him work from time to time as needed so he knows to stay away from you." I assured him.

"He may be your hired help from time to time but I think he has a convenient short-term memory." Daniel knew that at the very least Skulker had let him down when he was in trouble some months back. But I also knew that Skulker feared me and also needed work from time to time so he wouldn't dare risk my wrath and permanent unemployment to attempt to spar with Daniel.

"Hey, why is the cloud dissipating? It just suddenly fading and going away." Daniel noticed the cloud thinning and started to split apart and disappear.

"Relax Daniel, you got some pictures of it. We can study it later." I said to him as I saw the darkness of hyperspace before us.

We almost arrived at the border of the Ghost Zone near the rim of hyperspace when a green glowing giant whale-like creature the size of a school bus appeared out of the remnants of the cloud and flew towards us. As it came closer it looked very much like a humpback whale. All seemed fine as it slowed but then it started to open its mouth. We both darted out of the way as it zoomed past us. It was fortunate it kept going so I knew it wasn't chasing us, we simply happened to be in it's path.

"Yikes, at times the Ghost Zone is like being in some weird ocean!" I had to agree with Daniel. At times the Ghost Zone did resemble a giant ocean of odd creatures that just floated and hovered throughout the murky greenish atmosphere.

We were less than 20 yards from the beginning of hyperspace when out of nowhere materialized a smoky shadow of a creature with a vaporous form of a cowboy hat on its head and two angry red glowing eyes.

"You're on my radar Plasmius." The being spat. I was shocked at the brazen nature of this being. All the Ghost Zone knew I was the most feared ghost creature yet this being showed no fear to me whatsoever. This was an attitude that quickly needed adjusting.

"And whom might you be?" I challenged as I stared back at this foolish being.

"You're mate has committed crimes against the timeline and is also, like of all you, a crime against nature as half-breeds!" Now this being had crossed the line.

"Do you think we should teach our 'guest' a lesson?" Daniel asked me. I knew that he also wanted to pummel this creature but that would draw unwanted attention to us and possibly put us on Walker's radar. Walker loved to arrest ghosts having a brawl.

"This creature is out of his league and isn't worth our time unless he wants to keep annoying us." As much as I wanted to fry this spectral miscreant to a pulp, I was also cautious not to be too distracted with him. I know that was how some ghosts plotted an ambush by sending a distraction while others moved in.

"Who do you think you are to be threatening me and my family?" I snarled at this arrogant being. His eyes narrowed as he looked at me.

"I am the Time Wrangler. The one who polices time and arrests those who breaks its laws!" The creature pulled what looked like a gold pocket watch on a chain and began to twirl it around in a haughty manner.

"Did Clockwork send you?" Daniel asked. I had thought of this as well but this fellow didn't look like someone Clockwork would employ.

"I do not answer to Clockwork. He is a coward who prefers not to interfere and take charge on matters of time. I on the other hand enforce the laws of time with as much passion as Walker enforces the general laws of the Ghost Zone." The Time Wrangler sneered. He was his own judge, jury and executioner who struck me more as a conceited self righteous vigilante.

"Time is still Clockwork's jurisdiction." Daniel spat. I could tell that we were both getting more than fed up with the arrogance of this creature.

"You should talk Phantom! I should arrest you for violating the laws of time as well." Neither Daniel nor I said anything to offer evidence to the being's accusations. I guessed somehow the creature got wind of Daniel's traveling back to Wisconsin to stop me from becoming Plasmius. Another timeline that was a paradox for having ever happened but such results are expected when using time travel.

"I hope you try!" Daniel hissed as he had a green energy ball already forming in his hand. I had taught him well. All the while we were slowly but steadily drifting up toward the area of hyperspace.

"I think our Time Sheriff needs to be taught a lesson...how good is you're multiplication?" I asked the creature as I began to duplicate myself. Daniel still had some difficulty with this but he wouldn't have to worry about it. I made four of myself and began to charge ecto energy in each of my hands. My patience had worn thin and it was time to teach this being a lesson in manners. We were close enough to the edge of the Ghost Zone that we could traverse hyperspace in a hurry and become undetectable.

"Relax, freak. I'm not gonna try to arrest you right now, but be warned. I plan to get an army of Observants to come pay you a visit when you least expect it. Then we'll see how high and mighty you are." The Time Wrangler smirked and disappeared in a puff of smoke. We looked at each other and shot up toward the edge of the Ghost Zone and then crossed that beautiful threshold of dark blue hyperspace. I never thought I would be so glad to see it."

"What a jerk!" Daniel was deeply annoyed by this creature, but we needed to keep our focus as we headed in the direction of the Realm Beyond Time. I also had an informant that would was waiting just outside the Ghost Zone near our destination and hopefully he might be able to shed some light on this Time Wrangler as well as our visitor haunting the mayoral mansion and now the castle. Just then I saw Daniel jerk his head and looked surprised.

"I see something weird at 10 o' clock." Daniel followed my advice to use the clock position used in aviation as a reference while we were floating. As I looked in that direction I saw a strange shimmer of light . As we viewed it upon closer inspection, I noticed it randomly opening up to reveal what appeared to be outer space with clusters of stars in the distance. I couldn't make out any familiar constellations off hand so I held up my phone and began to film the anomaly. Daniel whipped out his phone and also filmed the unusual sight. The ripple reminded me of a tear in hyperspace that was opening and closing. It was as mysterious as it was beautiful.

"Well done Daniel. This is definitely worth a look, but again don't get too close." If this was indeed an opening to the universe there was no telling where it lead or when in time or if it was even our universe in the opening.

"This thing is freaky!" Daniel stared at it as he filmed it at different angles. This 'tear' had not appeared anywhere in the Ghost Zone. It may exist exclusively in the region of hyperspace.

"That it truly is indeed." I agreed.

"It's a good thing I programmed various constellations using the astronomy software that Nathan helped me with. Maybe we can get to the bottom of this." Daniel added. He was truly a brilliant kid who had been stifled in his development by spending too much time taking on all the responsibilities of ghost fighting. I was so grateful that he was now at least for a time under my roof and following the rules of delegating the ghost fighting to the rest of us. I know how passionate he was about fighting the good fight, I was just thankful I was able to train him to do so with a dose of common sense.

After what seemed like minutes of studying the phenomenon, I noticed it was slowly drifting away from us in a direction of a slow elliptical curve. We had to be on our way to the edge of the Ghost Zone entrance to where the Realm Beyond Time would be. I could see some large clocks floating in the distance below us so I knew we were almost there. Hopefully we would be arriving right about the same time as Nathaniel and Carolyn. Just as we neared the exit from hyperspace into the Ghost Zone I motioned Daniel to pause and wait. My informant was due to arrive and then, sure enough, I saw the him. He was a bluish squid-like creature that had six red eyes in his head and eight tentacle like arms.

"Hello Clipper." I said as Daniel looked at me suspiciously. He didn't need to know all my associates. He probably looked very suspicious but I needed Daniel to learn to trust my judgment.

"Greetings Plasmius." Clipper's eyes glowed a brighter red.

"Did you find out anything about our visitor at the mansion?" I had hoped Clipper may have some information to shed some light on the entity.

"No one seems to know much about this creature you speak of. All I have heard is that after this creature arrived some thought they saw a momentary ripple in the Ghost Zone but then it vanished to the area of the beyond." I knew Clipper was thorough. I had a feeling this beyond that he was referring to was the area of hyperspace. Apparently the ripple had appeared briefly in the Ghost Zone as well.

"About when did you first hear about this tear?" I was fishing for a clue that might shed some light on the entity.

"Residents began talking about it around a week ago." Clipper added. That made sense as it was the same time when the entity first visited us.

"Just so I know, did it ever change its shape?" I was curious if it might've been a shape shifter as well. The more I knew about it the better.

"Not that we know of. If retained its form with the look like a giant fish and 3 silvery eyes in its head as well as six long fins, 3 on each side." Clipper explained.

"That's just like the creature that visited us!" Daniel exclaimed, his eyes wide with excitement. The fact it was spotted in the Ghost Zone first gave me a clue as its possible origins. It may have arrived in the Ghost Zone and the nature of the Zone caused it to eventually evolve to become an ecto based creature. I needed to learn more.

"Did the creature try to communicate with anyone?" I asked.

"It didn't attempt to try to communicate with anyone as far as I know. There was a rumor that Walker may have tried to apprehend the creature for failing to register itself upon entry into the Ghost Zone as well as disorderly conduct. It's a recent law of the myriad of laws that Walker has added to his over-sized law book." Clipper shook his head. Walker was the epitome of an overzealous sheriff.

"Disorderly conduct? What did it do?" I asked. This was becoming interesting.

"Rumor has it that Walker accused it of trying to vandalize the Ghost Zone because of the tear that was spotted after its arrival. It seems that Walker likes to come up with any excuse to arrest ghosts." Clipper spoke with irritation in his voice. Walker was a fanatic about incarceration. Never mind if his unfortunate 'guests' were actually guilty of anything.

"Ask Clipper about the Time Wrangler." Daniel practically read my mind. The Time Wrangler was of equal concern after his threats he made against us earlier. I keep wondering if it may have secretly been sent by Clockwork.

"I'm sorry Plasmius, I don't know anything about this Wrangler. You would probably be better off to talk to Clockwork." Clipper looked frustrated. He wanted to have information about everyone in the Ghost Zone and showed visible frustration if he lacked any details. It's why he made such an excellent informant.

"Here's something for your trouble." In my hand I materialized a vintage hand-held gaming system with over a thousand games on it. Clipper loved to play video games about as much as he liked to find out anything about Ghost Zone inhabitants.

"Thank you Plasmius. I hope we can do business again soon." Clipper gave a smile and turned floating away.

"Let's hope Clockwork can shed some light on the Wrangler as well as this creature." Daniel was still fuming about our little encounter earlier. I know Clockwork could sometimes be cryptic in his advice but Daniel had a good relationship with him. I also know talking about Clockwork is a touchy subject as Daniel as hinted about some dark future he refuses to discuss in detail and a being called Dark Dan. Even the mere mention of Dark Dan causes him to freeze.

"I've been wondering just how you expect to find the entrance to Clockwork's domain. The floating clocks in the distance just give hint to the general location but don't you need the Infini Map to locate the actual entrance?" I asked. Daniel was curious and I knew it was time to fess up.

"Carolyn asked Frostbite permission to take snapshots of the Infini Map and she shared them from her phone. True it wont work to open shortcuts like the actual map, but it will reveal the entrance to the Realm Beyond Time." I had to laugh at Daniel's expression as his jaw dropped

"You had Aunt Carolyn photograph the Infini Map and Frostbite was OK with this?" Daniel asked with his voice having a bit of a squeak. I wish I had my phone out now to take a picture of Daniel. His look of shock was truly priceless.

"Carolyn is quite a master of persuasion." I bragged. She has had the advantage of studying ancient Norse customs which the Far Frozen appear to follow to a close degree." My wife truly had a talent with negotiations. This was especially essential since she resembled my persona and there's that guilt by association since I have made many enemies in the Ghost Zone. Nonetheless she managed to convince Frostbite to take the snapshots knowing that it would serve nothing more than a navigational tool as the images lacked the power of the actual map. Frostbite finally relented and allowed her to take the snapshots.

"As long as Frostbite is OK with it. On another note I notice that The Realm Beyond Time is awfully close to Walker's prison." Daniel commented. This was unfortunate but we would have to be careful not to be noticed by Walker and stay on our toes.

"We'll have to travel carefully Little Badger. I'll attempt to verify the closest exit from hyperspace that is almost a direct shot to the Realm Beyond Time. It still looks like we might have at least 10 minutes of being inside the Ghost Zone before we reach the Realm." I had hoped to be able to avoid Walker's region altogether but I couldn't find anyway around it. We'd have to take our chances and act fast.

As we flew through hyperspace it felt considerably colder. Daniel was smart to bundle up. I wasn't so worried as I had a hot ghost core so cold temperatures didn't affect me as much. The wind seemed to pull and push on our ghost form bodies. At times it became difficult to navigate. This was the closest to an actual storm that I experienced since navigating hyperspace.

We headed to the thinning area of hyperspace closest to the Realm Beyond Time. As we neared the entrance back into the Ghost Zone the wind began to pick up again, this time more intensely. It was as if the Ghost Zone was more closely connected to Earth's dimensional plane than hyperspace. The wind began to howl and I wondered if Vortex might've broken free from the Observants and was toying with us. I became more suspicious when what appeared to be a glowing green swirling mass below us, but it wasn't in a shape of a funnel like Vortex, but it was like swirling swarm of...something.

"What's with the wind? Does the Ghost Zone get storms?" Daniel complained.

"Your guess is as good as mine Daniel. Let's see if we can disrupt whoever or whatever is causing this." Daniel and I both lifted our hands in unison and aimed ecto blasts at the center of the cloud but the cloud was seemingly unaffected. In desperation Daniel attempted his ghostly wail. I had trained him how to conserve his energy when using it so I was curious how well he had applied what he had been taught. I plugged my ears as even behind him it was still intensely loud. As I saw him wail I could tell he was better managing his breathing and trying to conserve some of his power in case he needed to defend himself from an unexpected attack. After the wail, I noticed the disturbance of the green swirl had dissipated and the wind died down. But then as quickly as it began to disappear it formed back into a cloud and then began charging towards us.

"I think we made it angry." I knew it was risky but the wind it was creating was slowing us down considerably and we couldn't waste anymore time. As the green swirl came into view I noticed the horrid sight. It wasn't just a green cloud, it was a green cloud of a mass of what looked like hundreds of giant angry ghost bees. These bees wings also produced large wind gusts when flapped which I never noticed before when observing other spectral bee swarms.

"I'm trying to conserve my energy but I'm still out of breath!" Daniel gasped as the swarm headed towards us.

"Let's try combining our shields. At least this will buy us time till we get to the Realm Beyond Time." I advised him as we both quickly combined our ghost shields to form a swirling pink and green bubble shield around us. The bees latched onto it and began to sting at the shield slowly weakening it.

"They're all over the shield!" Daniel said, his voice now sounding somewhat hoarse.

"We'll need to retreat Daniel, there are too many of them!" Another couple of swarms joined with the current one and latched onto our shield.

"But we came so far, we're almost there!" Daniel protested. I shared his feelings but the bees were too fierce and the shield had begun to weaken and shrink further in around us.

"Do you suggest we fly to Clockwork with a mass of angry bees?" I asked rather sarcastically at Daniel. I knew he clearly had not thought this through in the heat of the moment.

"How about we take the bees where they don't want to go? Like someplace too cold for them?" Daniel said with a smirk.

"The Land of the Far Frozen? But that will add an extra half hour to our journey. Still we appear to have no choice at the moment." I was aware that ghost bees like regular bees hated extreme cold and hopefully Walker would still be doing his drills at the prison. We steered inside our ever shrinking shield to the Land of the Far Frozen. Sure enough, as we approached closer the bees began to slide off the shield while others flew away. I could start to see floating ice mountains in clouds as I noticed a couple of bees beginning to make it through the shield.

"Hit them with your ice power!" I said as Daniel formed a cold ball of energy mixed with ice crystals and hurled it at the bees scaring them away. The rest flew off just as our shield disintegrated around us.

As soon as we were within 100 yards of the Far Frozen I felt my body weaken. I quickly looked around to see if any bees decided to pursue us despite the cold but thankfully none were in sight. I beamed with pride at my Little Badger. He had thought fast on his feet and managed to defeat the spectral bees as we arrived on the first cloud where ice shelves were peeking up through the mist.

"Hey, I think I see Frostbite!" Daniel shouted. I knew I had to tread carefully around Frostbite. Although we were on more amicable terms it was only because of Daniel and my wife. Months ago in a fit of careless ambition I foolishly tried to steal the Infini Map during one of my self entitlement moments. Although these fits of ambition were the result of the effect my dad had on me there was no excuse for my actions. I could tell Frostbite did not fully yet trust me but I had hoped he at least had forgiven me.

"Just out of curiosity Fruitloop, why did you steal the Infini Map those months ago?" Daniel still had to bring it up. It's one thing to know why I did it, but trying to explain it to Daniel was awkward at best. It meant having to swallow some pride and that was extremely hard for me to do.

"You know when you do things because you think it will make your dad proud? Unfortunately my dad was overly ambitious to a fault. It's no excuse and I know better, but old habits die hard when you've been raised by someone as demanding as my dad." It was difficult to talk about my father. Daniel was so blessed to still have his dad even if he was a bumbling oaf at times. I didn't enjoy painting my dad in a bad light nor being reminded of how I lost him at such a young age.

"How was he overly ambitious?" Daniel asked. I gulped and reluctantly explained further.

"My father tried to instill in me the reasoning that beings had no right to withhold information that could possibly benefit the human race. One of his past careers was archeology digs. He felt that the treasures of the world were for whoever found them first. When one discovery created a potential conflict with a country's laws, he would fight it tooth and nail. His philosophy that he worked to drill in me was that nobody says no to a Masters. It has taken a great deal of time to overcome this way of thinking. My dad did a lot of things that were awesome, and then some I find out that...was not so much." I looked downcast. I looked up to my dad and would always defend him. I felt having to explain when his decisions were wrong seemed like I was betraying his memory.

"Sometimes our dads make mistakes when they really don't mean to. They overlook something and as kids we have to realize no one is really perfect but they can still be forgiven. My dad was careless to the point I could have been taken by CPS had they found out he left the ghost portal open so I became exposed and mutated into a half-ghost." Daniel was very empathetic. Jack had been very criminally negligent, but Daniel didn't want to lose his dad over one mistake. I wish I could've had that chance.

"I see Frostbite, he's holding up his paw which usually means he's signaling that he will come to us and to wait for him. Their probably doing some tournaments." Daniel smiled as he waved back at him.

"I do hope he has forgiven me about the Infini Map. I know he allowed Carolyn to make snapshots but then Carolyn never tried to steal the map whereas I did." I regretted it more so now having to face Frostbite myself. If was so much easier when it was Carolyn talking to him.

"Well it's a good thing that Carolyn is such a talented negotiator." Daniel added. I smiled in agreement. It was very fortunate my wife had such a talent almost like an attorney. She said she had to bail her late husband out of some legal situations and misunderstandings. She also admitted to making misjudgments as well. I guess that is what makes her so special to me. She could accept me for my flaws and still keep on loving me while encouraging me to do better. In a way, so had Daniel. When he managed to get the Infini Map back from he he suggested therapy. I took offense to something that would imply I was weak and imperfect, but then Carolyn convinced me seeking therapy in of itself is an act of courage. It was still difficult to seek help with my pride issues I had learned while growing up.

"Oh great One, so good to see you again. What brings you to these parts?" Frostbite ran up to us and I cringed on the inside. He glanced at me with a look of stern warning for a moment but said nothing. He then turned his entire focus on Daniel.

"Frostbite, we are facing both an enemy and a mystery." Daniel got straight to the point.

"Who is it that dares to threaten the Great One?" Frostbite asked in almost a growl.

"It's not that simple I'm afraid." I replied. The Yeti looked at me with his yellow eyes that seemed to pierce me to my soul. He was difficult to read. I could sense he had me under an internal light of scrutiny.

"We had a strange visit from some kind of entity from another time and possibly another reality." Daniel explained showing deep concern.

"That's not the worst part. Apparently some self appointed vigilante is angry that my timeline was changed and I didn't spend years in the hospital with ecto-acne." I explained. I could tell I was starting to lose Frostbite. He looked puzzled and pensive in thought.

"For problems that deal with time you should seek out Clockwork. He will have the fuller wisdom in this matter." Frostbite explained.

"We tried to get there but were stopped by a round of savage spectral bees. The only way to stop them was to expose them to cold but there's no way I can create such a long lasting cold myself. I was barely able even to keep a shield Vlad and I made to keep the bees away from us." Daniel added.

"I recall a time when certain leaders had to sojourn to a warmer part of the Ghost Zone for a certain spice when some of our people fell ill. During their travels they too had to deal with numerous pests. It was told that one scent that kept many winged demons away is the scented green leaf. They are stitched like a garland and can be worn to help you on your journeys. If you wish I can take you to a keeper of spices who may have some." Frostbite explained.

"Is he nearby? I apologize for sounding rushed but we are rather in a hurry and have already been delayed by ghost bees and an unfortunate encounter with the Time Wrangler." I explained.

"Perhaps my cousin in the nearby settlement has some spare leaf. It will not be quite as strong but it should still be very effective. If you wish to wait here I can go and see. In the meantime take at least a short rest. A wise warrior takes rest when needed so as to able to assure great victory in battle." We were in a hurry but we both to wait so as to have defense against any future bee attacks. Frostbite quickly left as we waited for this 'scented leaf'. I was surprised that only a few minutes had passed and Frostbite had returned and I already could smell something that smelt like mint.

"Here is some spare leaf that has never been used. Waldemar wishes you great success in your journey as do I." Frostbite handed each of us a small garland that looked and smelled like peppermint. I am aware that peppermint is one of the smells bees hated. Hopefully these ghost bees would be equally repulsed. Daniel then took one of his hands and sprayed ice into the other hand moving in various directions. Soon a shape began to form that resembled a swan.

"Here is an ice sculpture for Waldemar. Tell him we thank him and I thank him for his generosity." Daniel replied. Daniel must've been hanging around Carolyn to be as eloquent as he sounded.

Thank you and many blessings Great One. And fanged one...do be mindful to follow the example of the Great One." Frostbite smiled and we both left.

"That actually went better than expected." I breathed a sigh of relief. I felt very awkward around Frostbite and it was fortunate that Daniel was with me this time.

"Well we still have a bit of a journey but hopefully we can avoid further trouble. Something has me curious though. We both suspect the entity might be from another reality, I wonder if the Time Wrangler might be as well." Daniel asked.

"I'm hoping Clockwork will be able to tell us more." I replied. As I explained to Daniel in one of our training sessions, a powerful enemy that one doesn't fully understand is a greater threat because of the element of uncertainty. Hopefully Clockwork will have some answers.

We flew as fast as possible with our shields both up. I reasoned that having the shields around us would make us undetectable to Walker's speed radar. I'll never forget the time Daniel told me he got arrested for speeding in the Ghost Zone. I to this day have never seen a speed limit sign floating in the Ghost dimension but this made no difference to Walker.

I spotted more floating clocks and soon we turned and then, out of the mist was the Realm Beyond Time. We both flew in together and right inside the main tower I saw Carolyn and Nathaniel. I was relieved that they had arrived ahead of us.

"Baby, I was starting to get worried and was getting ready to contact you on the wrist communicator." Carolyn said as she flew up and gave me a hug as if she hadn't seen me in a week. She sure loved to hug a lot. Nathaniel flew up and smirked at the garland I had around my neck of mint. Carolyn clung to me like sticky tape and I could sense Daniel was cringing on the inside.

"What's with the mint garland?" Nathaniel asked.

"Daniel and I had to wear these as we have been harassed by some angry spectral bees. The scent helps to keep them away." I said almost choking. After leaving the Far Frozen I noticed how pungent even these older leaves were.

"Did you have any problems getting here?" I asked.

"There was a big parade and Walker was in charge of one the floats. We were careful to blend in so we wouldn't get noticed. Half-ghosts are considered illegal immigrants in the Ghost Zone for reasons I still am not quite sure." Carolyn explained.

"So you two got to enjoy blending in a crowd while watching a parade while Vlad and I got threatened by the Time Wrangler along with a giant swarm of ghost bees. We also had to avoid a very large whale-like creature flying in our general direction." Daniel smirked.

"Who's the Time Wrangler?" Nathaniel asked.

"Some dude who thinks he is the law enforcer of timelines and wants to make trouble for us. You'll get to hear all about it when I talk to Clockwork." Daniel replied.

"You really meet some weird characters in the Ghost Zone." Nathaniel commented as he shook his head.

"It's the Ghost Zone, weird is the way of things around here!" Daniel responded with a smirk. Just then I heard a large door open and turned to see none other than Clockwork come up to us. His expression was unreadable.

"I've been expecting all of you. I know you seek answers regarding the visitor that has come to your reality and the one you call the Time Wrangler." Clockwork turned into a baby as he continued talking.

"Is this Time Wrangler someone you hired?" Daniel asked sounded irritated. I knew he had a right to be.

"The Time Wrangler comes from this realm, but I did not hire him nor approve of his ways. He is hired directly through the Observants and I do not approve of his methods. As for the entity, unfortunately it comes from another universe. I am not familiar with this universe, only that I saw the creature appear in our reality in the area surrounding the Ghost Zone that you refer to as hyperspace." Clockwork turned into his current middle aged persona as he looked at us while showing a couple of shimmering images. One image was the Time Wrangler in his smoky mysterious form and the other was the entity when it first visited us back at the mayoral mansion in Amity Park.

"Is there anything you can do or advise us that will help us?" I asked Clockwork. I was hoping he could offer some insight.

"Unfortunately I have little control with the Time Wrangler. I do know however that he claims he is forbidden from going into your realm, however when you are in the Ghost Zone you are at risk of his devices. As for the entity, I know little more than you. From what I have seen though, it is not to be underestimated. At the same time paradoxically, I suspect it is more hurting than desiring to cause harm. But I cannot say with certainty. I can only advise you to proceed with caution and try to get to it to reveal itself." Clockwork turned into a old version of himself.

"I still am confused about why these timelines keep popping in everything from the holo simulator to Aunt Carolyn's phone. I get about time changing course but there's a lot of stuff that just doesn't make sense." Daniel asked.

"Like Vladimir explained to you, time is like a river. An event that changes its twist and turns may change the path of the river, but every event that occurs in time leaves a signature of energy. Much like the etches a river may leave as it erodes a bank before changing course. Those echoes of past timelines did at one time exist. It is also possible you all may actually remember those timelines as a result though they will seem more like a dream." Clockwork cautioned.

"You mean all of us are eventually going to remember bits and pieces of the other past timelines? In other words I have to recall a timeline where Vlad married my mom and my dad was bitterly single?" Daniel looked intently at Clockwork. He couldn't have felt nearly as uncomfortable as I did. It meant that eventually Maddie would remember the alternate timelines as well, especially the one where I was married to her. I would probably seem like an ex to her not to mention an unrequited admirer when my alternate me tricked her into coming to my Rocky Mountain chalet. I secretly prayed that Carolyn wouldn't be too upset with me learning about these alternate pasts. I desperately prayed Jack would just discard the memories of other timelines as a goofy dream.

"I didn't say it would be pleasant, but these are only echoes Daniel. They are sonnets of mistakes that will no longer be made and should be taken as learning tools, not shaming tools." Clockwork advised. It was easy for him to talk, I was the one who stood to be the most embarrassed by all of this.

"We have some pictures of the tear that appeared in hyperspace. Can you replay on your screen when the tear first appeared?" I asked. I needed to change the subject in a hurry.

"Yes I can." Clockwork replied as he changed back into a baby and floated up to the main viewer clicking it on with a flick of a button. Immediately an image popped up that showed the ripple in hyperspace.

"Can you slow the speed down by 50 percent?" I asked betting on a hunch. Clockwork nodded and clicked a button on his scepter and the image began to slow as it rippled, slightly distorted. At a moment when the ripple opened wide I noticed a flicker of a blur. I asked Clockwork to rewind and replay where the blur appeared. As I viewed the events again now slowed down further I noticed an image of a creature that looked just like the entity. Three silvery eyes and six fins. It looked like it swam as a dolphin in the sea as it emerged in the Ghost Zone. It began to slowly look around and then floated away. It acted like it was not well, as if it had been injured.

"Clockwork, can you replay at this same slowed down speed the moment when I first entered this reality at the proto portal experiment?" Carolyn asked. I suspected she was curious if this creature may have passed through the portal beam along with her but was previously undetected.

Clockwork transformed into a middle aged version of himself as he pressed a button that replaced the image with the experiment of the proto portal. I watched with horror as I saw myself get blasted in slow motion by that blasted explosive energy discharge. My hair slowly turned white and blemishes began to appear on my face. Then I saw a glowing green ball of energy emerge from the portal and transform into Carolyn. She appeared out of the blast as she fell into me. Her hair was already white, her face also covered in splotches. Then, just after Carolyn arrived I saw what looked like a blurred visage of the entity appearing through the portal. It was semi transparent and appeared in just one frame before vanishing in a blur.

"So maybe this entity also came from my reality?" Carolyn asked.

"Again, I know only as much as you do. The being may very well have come from your universe, but not necessarily." Clockwork explained as he turned into a very old version of himself once again.

"Rewind the image to where it first came out and freeze the frame as a closeup." Carolyn asked and Clockwork did. Upon closer inspection the creature had an expression on its face of sheer terror. It's pupiless silverly eyes were squinted as if in pain. It's mouth with sharp teeth was open in a grimace. This creature looked like it was suffering.

"It looks like it's horrified. Like it just lived through the end of the world!" Carolyn looked as she saw the image of the creature. She turned away from the image and walked away, unable to bear continuing to look upon it.

"I guess we'll have to look at these images of the rift in the hyperspace this creature came through. It may yield a clue as to its origins." I said. The emotions were heavy after witnessing the image of the creature. It was burned into all our psyches. I saw Daniel gulp as he turned to Clockwork.

"Clockwork, can I ask a small favor?" Daniel asked scratching the back of his neck.

"Certainly Daniel." Clockwork answered as he looked back at the image of the creature.

"Can you open up a portal entrance to the lab at the castle in Wisconsin? We've been having a time trying to avoid Walker and other threats." Daniel was brilliant. None of us had thought to ask Clockwork for such a favor. Of course Daniel also had a history with Clockwork.

"Certainly Daniel." Clockwork clicked on his scepter and then the image of the lab came into view. We all prepared to jump through. As we floated up I heard Daniel holler 'thanks!' as the lab came into view. I also heard something far more haunting.

"Try not to destroy the present." Was the voice of Clockwork as we fell back into our lab at the Wisconsin castle.

As we landed it already felt colder than when we had left. I quickly turned up the Ghost Shield knowing this would act as an insulator for the castle while Daniel and Nathaniel were already grabbing some extra ecto fire logs that were left inside the lab for quick retrieval. We had a big day ahead of us tomorrow to study the pictures taken and see if we could glean any more insight into the entity as well as the Time Wrangler. I felt tired but had the feeling I would not be getting much sleep tonight.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 A New Revelation

**Klaatu: In this chapter, more theories about the entity become revealed in this chapter. In specific; the origins of the entity will be suggested as well as why it feels threatened in this universe. There will also be new mysteries to be solved as more strange events begin to happen.**

**The cold from the troublesome Polar Vortex will also start affecting the Ghost Zone since according to the show the human world and the Ghost Zone are interconnected. When I wrote this chapter there was a Polar Vortex event happening in the mid west and even though I live in California it still felt colder here than usual. **

**As for the story, things will be getting pretty intense so hold onto your hats. Review and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Checkmate or Endgame.**

Daniel's POV

Aunt Carolyn was upstairs trouble studying the mainframe in Vlad's study to see how the creature may have accessed the holo controls. Although Nathan and I had checked already she felt we may have missed something so she had to double check the findings. Nathan was testing the training room to make sure the entity hadn't messed with it while we were away. As tough as the training room was already, we certainly didn't need it messing up and becoming a world of hurt for us if it had a hidden glitch.

Meanwhile, Vlad loaded the images of the ripple he had filmed from his phone and into a computer astronomy program that Nathan and I helped build. The name of the program is called S.E.A.C.C. (pronounced as 'seek') and it stands for Star Evaluation and Constellation Comparison. I was very excited about it and hoped the images would shed some light as to where this creature may have originated. As I watched the images of space where the ripple opened I saw the computer formatting the starts into 2d coordinates with a 3rd coordinate for the luminosity distance which is simply the approximate distance of a star based on it's brightness.

"Hmm, the computer shows the configuration of Andromeda. I'm uncertain if the luminosity distances from viewing the stars in hyperspace are relative to viewing from earth." Vlad studied the image closely.

"Well, let's just guess it is the same for the moment." I knew Vlad didn't like guesswork, but it was better than nothing.

"According to this star constellation position based on the computer data, it looks like the creature came through a ripple in space that is around 440 million years old!" Vlad look stunned. I couldn't believe it myself.

"That means this creature came back through history! I wonder how it found it's way here?" It seemed the more we uncovered the less we knew. The 440 million years old comment sounded vaguely familiar to me as we studied various periods in earth's history though I couldn't place this time frame at the moment. While I was pondering on that I was equally puzzled that the creature somehow traveled through a tear in time and space.

"That's a good question Little Badger." Vlad replied as he reran the image of the ripple again, frame by frame to see if he had missed anything. During one segment I saw something rather odd that looked like a streak of bright blue.

"I wonder what caused that blue flash?" Vlad asked. It reminded me of a flash of lightening. I'm surprised I didn't see it before while we were filming. Then it hit me.

"I remember Nathan and I studied about a mass extinction event that occurred around 440 million years ago. I think it was called the Ordovician extinction. I read an article about it. Scientists believed that this extinction event was caused by a gamma ray burst." I remember this particular fact well as Nathan and I sweat bullets over it for a mid-term exam.

"Oh no..." Vlad looked pale when I explained this to him.

"What's the matter?" It was like Vlad to look like this. He was always confident and had a way about him. If he was upset, there was something definitely worth being upset about. He walked to the intercom and pressed a button.

"Carolyn, could you come down here for a moment?" Vlad asked.

"On my way." She answered. In an instant she materialized. She was able to stay human during teleportation and materialization. Something none of us could do yet.

"Did you ever finish that light analysis program?" Vlad asked.

"You mean the one that analyzes spectrum of light passing through different materials? I did complete it. Why?" Carolyn replied looking curious.

"I need your program to analyze this frame that shows a flash of blue light. Duplicate the light passing through beneath the surface of the ocean. Start at about 5 feet underwater and program the simulation to 100 feet of depth." Vlad instructed.

"OK, let's see what we've got." Carolyn uploaded the image to her personal terminal and her fingers flew. She was the fastest typist in her class at 90 plus words a minute.

The screen showed the flash in slow motion and off to the side were numbers representing feet. As the water depth increased the light began to take on a green tint and resembled the light I saw when I walked into the ghost portal and got zapped getting my ghost powers.

"Oh my God! The light looks like the same color of light that the proto portal emitted. I hope you aren't thinking what I'm thinking?" Carolyn responded looking deeply distressed.

"That the creature may have viewed the energy beam that came from the portal to be the same energy beam that killed most of its kind." Vlad replied somberly.

"Remember what the creature said when it attacked Casper High? It blamed the portal experiment for killing its kind. It must have mistaken the proto portal burst to be the gamma ray burst that hit its people. Whoa, that's pretty bad!" Now it all made sense why the creature was so angry. It must think that proto portal was responsible for a near extinction of its species. Yikes!

"How can we convince it that the proto portal accident didn't kill its race?" Carolyn asked.

"Well it survived when it came through the portal. How could it explain surviving the portal if it thought it killed others of its kind?" I challenged.

"A good point Little Badger, the problem I think however is the creature is grieving. It may not be responsive to anything we have to say as it is too angry and wont see reason." Vlad replied looking down at the console.

"What makes you so sure." Carolyn asked.

"Because I know what I was like when I lost my dad and little sister. I wouldn't listen to anyone for a while. I wanted to blame the whole world rather than face the truth. I was able to shut off my emotions for a time. Unfortunately it also caused me to shut down my empathy." Vlad looked distant. I could tell it still bothered him a lot to talk about the car accident. I knew what the Nasty Burger accident did to me in an alternate future. The hurt I must've felt was so intense that I chose to do away with my human emotions...at a horrible cost to myself and everyone else.

"That creature is hurting and angry. There's no telling what its capable of." Carolyn cautioned.

"We're going to have to find someway to trap it. I know it doesn't pick up on regular ghost sensors and is impervious to ghost catching equipment." I reminded everyone.

"I think we will all have to work on a special type of spectral catcher that will enable us to catch it before it finds a way to really hurt someone." Vlad responded solemnly.

"If it was able to somehow manipulate the electrical signals that turned on the holo simulator, maybe it has a frequency similar to electricity." I suggested.

"Brilliant Little Badger!" Vlad smiled proudly. I can't believe I just figured that out. Since having more time to study I have been able to analyze things better. I had only hoped my guess was correct.

"The one thing I'm still puzzled about is if the portal accident hurled Aunt Carolyn back 20 years from her future, how could it have opened a doorway to the Ordovician period?" I was stumped at this.

"Maybe the portal blast didn't stop traveling back in time. Maybe it continued to travel back and breached earth's prehistory, or rather Carolyn's parallel universe of her earth's history. Carolyn did come from an alternate universe." Vlad explained. The more I heard about it the more I felt another headache coming on. Time travel was one of my least favorite subjects. As we pondered what Vlad was saying I felt a sudden chill of air.

"Man did you feel that?" I shivered as Nathan came into the lab.

"I tested the training room. Everything seems to be running fine." Nathan said as I saw him visibly shudder for a moment. I glanced at camera that tells what the temperature is outside.

"Yikes, it's minus 48 degrees outside with a wind chill of minus 62!" Man I had no idea Wisconsin could get so cold.

"Thank you Polar Vortex!" Nathan exclaimed

"I heard the weather report say that we were suppose to warm up to minus 7 degrees. I never thought I'd hear myself say minus 7 degrees as warming up!" Carolyn said with a shiver.

"I'll grab some more ecto fire logs. I can treat them with extra ecto energy so they can last longer and burn hotter." Nathan added as he turned ghost and floated back out of the lab.

"Might I also suggest we head up to the kitchen and get warmer?" Carolyn suggested.

"Woman, you read my mind!" Vlad responded as he shut down the computers and we all turned ghost and flew to the kitchen. When in a hurry, going ghost saves time walking or running. I only use teleportation for emergencies or in a super big hurry as it still wears me out to use it.

As we floated up to the kitchen I saw Nathan loading some logs on the fire and a flew over and helped him.

"We all heading to the kitchen which seems to be the warmest place in this castle." I said to Nathan.

"I'm not surprised seeing as George loves to cook almost constantly this time of year. The oven seldom stays off for more than a few hours." Nathan smirked as he finished loading the last of the extra treated ecto logs.

As Nathan and I caught up with Vlad and Carolyn I was already imagining the taste of hot cocoa. I decided to turn human again and Nathan did also. I was still pretty exhausted from all the battles we had with those nasty ghost bees. Then as we entered toward the kitchen we were met with an unexpected and unwelcome surprise.

"Skulker! What are you doing here? What is the meaning of this?!" Vlad spat. This was totally out of line for Skulker to show up unannounced. We were both puzzled as the ghost portal down in the lab had been secured and the ghost shield was up yet here he was! Skulker usually rang the chime to the ghost portal downstairs or called Vlad ahead if he wanted to go see him. He and Vlad were not on the best of terms after his stunt of leaving me to the mercy of attack by other ghosts some time back. I had forgotten how he nearly left me to die that fateful day. Before Skulker even responded I saw Ember pop in next to him. I had just turned human but not taking any chances I went ghost immediately, not wanting to take any chances.

"The Ghost Zone is getting affected by that weather anomaly your people call the Polar Vortex. It is getting intolerably cold and so we thought we would spend a little while here." Skulker replied nonchalantly. As cold as the Zone was the weather hadn't been that much colder since I was there. He was obviously lying and had some other motivation for being here. Vlad I could tell was equally suspicious.

"I am more interested in how you got through the ghost shield?" Vlad asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We might tell you if you're nice to us." Skulker smirked. I could tell that didn't sit well with Vlad.

"So after you leave me to die and Vlad fires you, then you decide to just show up unannounced because it's a bit chilly where you are?" I glared at Skulker with dagger eyes. If looks could kill Skulker would've been ecto residue.

"Relax baby pop. We don't want to hang out here that long. We just wanted to stop by. It turns out the Far Frozen is actually warmer right now than the rest of the Ghost Zone." Ember said shooting a glare back at me. She may have not been there when Skulker did what he did and left me but I wasn't in the mood to play her or anyone's little games.

"So the Polar Vortex is now even freezing the Ghost Zone! We got out in the nick of time!" Nathan said sarcastically not falling for Skulker's deception. Vlad knew Skulker was up to something but decided to play dumb. I trusted Vlad's hunches as he was a master strategist and probably wanted to learn more of what Skulker was up to

"Fine Skulker. You and Ember can stay here for a little while but don't try to pull anything. My ghost servants and surveillance are watching you." Vlad cautioned. I could so tell he wanted to just throw a couple of ecto blasts at Skulker but decided he wasn't worth it. We all had bigger battles to face dealing with this entity.

"We do not intend to overstay our welcome." Skulker responded as one of the ghost servants floated in with some cups of hot cocoa.

"I made hot cocoa for everyone." Martha said with a smile as she floated with a tray of the cups filled nearly to the brim, all with whip-cream and a light chocolate drizzle on each. There were even two extra cups for our unexpected and rather unwelcome guests. We all thanked her and she set the beverages on the kitchen dining counter. Her presence eased the tension in the air. I noticed Nathan walk over and check the answering machine. I heard mom and dad leave some messages. I cautioned them not to call in the ghost zone as we had to be very stealthy and a ringing cell phone their might have attracted unwanted attention from a certain overzealous ghost sheriff.

"_Hi, honey. We were just calling you to see how you were doing. I heard it's pretty cold there right now so hope you're staying inside and keeping warm. Give us a call when you can. Love you._" My mom said on the machine. I hadn't called my folks yet and now was as good a time as any. I pulled out my phone and speed dialed.

"Hey, hi Mom...Dad. How is everybody?" I asked.

"Well, your dad had a small fall but he's OK. I didn't want to leave a message on the machine and get you overly worried. He slipped off the roof and fell but some bushes along with his jumpsuit helped to break his fall. He just has mostly a few scratches but other than that, he's fine." Mom said with motherly tone she has especially when dad did something a bit foolish.

"What was he doing on the roof?" I asked. Mom replied.

"Hey squirt, how are ya doing?" Dads' voice came on over the phone.

"You OK dad?" I asked. Sometimes I think he hurt worse than he let on.

"Oh don't worry about me. I'm doing fine. I was just reinforcing the roof and securing the satellite dish. The weather prediction is it's suppose to be in the windy and in teens in a day or two." Dad was used to cold weather but this was a record for Amity Park this time of year.

"How's my little brother doing? I hear you've been getting a lot of cold over there." Jazz chimed in. It almost seemed like we were in a contest to see who was getting the coldest temps.

"Last I checked it was somewhere in the minus 40's." I grabbed the remote and turned on to the weather service channel. I saw Lance Thunder shivering in a coverall rain jacket, his expression said it all...freezing weather heading toward Amity.

"Are you sure that Vortex himself isn't behind this?" Jasmine asked. I knew the Vortex incident was still fresh in everyone's minds.

"Last Vlad told me is that Vortex had been given back to the Observants for re-incarceration. I double checked and was assured Vortex is locked up for good." I didn't want to tell Vlad I had done this but I still had some trust issues with his sometimes villainous or at the very least, reckless nature. Vlad gave me a rather annoyed look and I just shrugged my shoulders.

"I'm glad to hear it. I'm still not looking forward to the coming colder weather." Jazz complained.

"Well, at least we don't have to deal with the drought conditions we had a while back." I reflected.

"You mean before Vlad tried to end the drought with a dangerous weather ghost?" Jazz shot back sarcastically.

Before I got to answer the line became static and went dead. I tried to call back on the land line but it too was out. I heard a gust of wind and knew the weather had taken a turn for the worse. Next, the lights began to flicker. An even stronger gust of wind roared against the castle. Vlad turned on the intercom.

"George, could you go down to the lab and increase the ghost shield by 40 percent." Vlad asked.

"Certainly sir." Came the reply. I was still impressed that the ghost shield could double as a weather insulator. It sure came in handy during this freakish bout of cold.

Meanwhile Skulker and Ember were watching an episode of a ghost hunting show. To them, seeing humans attempt to hunt or stalk ghosts was undoubtedly their equivalent to comical reality TV. I watched them laughing at the ghost hunters.

"This prey is especially amusing. They seem to think that ghost is actually an old jail warden. Little do they know that is really Amorpho impersonating the jail warden. What a bunch of suckers!" Skulker laughed.

"They don't know what we do Baby Pop! They just keep trying to guess based on what they see." Ember chuckled.

As I glanced over at the television the lights flickered again and went dark along with everything else. The power generator kicked in and the reddish hue emergency lights came on but the television was out for the count. The timing couldn't have been worse.

"Baby, this is boring! I say we go to the Far Frozen and watch some tournaments." Ember complained as she yawned. Skulker looked disappointed. I didn't know he had such a thing for human shows.

"How are you gonna leave? The portal is locked down for the evening." I asked with a smirk.

"We have our ways. Until next time whelp." Skulker pulled out what looked like a crystal that opened to create a makeshift ghost portal. I read about such crystals in one of the ghost artifact books in Vlad's study. They must've found a way to use it to defeat the ghost shield. I secretly clicked my phone and recorded the frequencies in the room to see what frequency Skulker was using. Then I could use this info to add the frequency to the ghost shield to keep Skulker out. I got a few seconds of recording before a triangular green shimmer appeared as Skulker and Ember flew into it and then vanished.

"Well at least they left." I said internally. The emergency lights began to dim slightly as I heard a strange noise coming from the generator as if it was slowing down and then speeding back up.

"Dad, I think the backup generator is going on the fritz again. I better go down to the lab and check it out." Nathan said. I cringed. We so did not need the backup generator to fail in the midst of a Polar Vortex!

"I'll go down with you in case you need an extra hand." I offered.

We both flew down to the lab to see what was up. As we approached the lab door I thought I saw what looked like the Time Wrangler hovering nearby but only for a moment. The image disappeared quickly as we moved towards the lab door and maybe it was just me imagining things. I had been under a lot of stress after meeting that character.

As we both phased through the lab door I noticed what looked like a soft bluish glow surrounding the breakers.

"Hey Nathan, do you see that?" I asked. But then the strange glow had vanished.

"I saw it for a moment. I hope some ghost isn't messing with the power! That's all we need." Nathan grumbled annoyed as he reached toward the switch and flipped the breaker to the off position then back on again. The emergency generator shuddered momentarily and then was fine as Nathan flipped the breaker. The generator then made a slight slowing sound as the strange glow once again appeared over the breaker switch and Nathan stepped back as we both looked at it.

"What do you think it is?" I asked. Then an answer came as the blue glow moved away from the breaker and then became the form that looked like a two foot eel. It suddenly shot toward the ghost portal door and rammed into it but wasn't able to penetrate.

"Uh, the ghost portal is closed for the moment but you can check back tomorrow." I said to the creature.

The glowing eel like vapor twirled around and two glowing angry red eyes appeared. I tried firing at it but it dodged my blasts as it growled at us and then flew off in a hurry phasing through the lab door. I wished I had remember to pack a Fenton Thermos on me but it was left with the supplies back at my bedroom in Amity. I was careless for being so exhausted after our little excursion into the Ghost Zone earlier. We tried to follow the creature but then it just disappeared in the hallway and I could no longer sense its ecto signature.

"I wonder if we should tell Vlad?" I asked Nathan. Nathan rolled his eyes up.

"Let me do it." Nathan felt annoyed as did I that we didn't find out more about the creature as it seemed to vanish into nowhere. This castle was full of weirdness.

Nathan flew ahead of me as I floated back up toward the kitchen. He was there first and I heard him talking to George.

"I believe your mom and dad have retired for the evening. Your dad said he would stop by the study first. They might be there right now so you might still be able to catch them." George said to Nathan.

OK, thanks George." Nathan said as he headed that way. I decided just to hang back at the dining kitchen counter and grabbed my cocoa to put it back in the microwave. As the cocoa was heating up I tried the land line once again but it was still dead. I picked up my phone and wondered if the cellular service was still down. When I hit the call button I heard a dial tone. Great, we have service for the moment! I speed dialed Fenton Works. I felt stupid calling mom back but I knew she had a vast data base of ghost research and maybe had some clues about this eel ghost I spotted.

As I listened the house phone rang for five times and then the answering machine came on.

"_Welcome to Fentonworks. Whatever your paranormal needs are, we are the experts at tracking, capturing and eliminating those pesky ghosts. Please leave your name and number at the sound of the tone and we'll get back to you as soon as possible."_ My moms' voice said in the recording.

I was puzzled. I had just talked to mom not 20 minutes earlier and now no one was picking up. Something was off and I needed to find out what. I flew like a bat out of a fire and aimed toward Vlad's study. I was silently hoping that Vlad was still in there. I didn't see Nathan at the moment as I flew in front of Vlad's door. I knocked frantically.

"Vlad, I need to talk to you!" I hated disturbing anyone but this was important and I had a bad feeling in my gut.

"What is it Daniel?" Vlad said rather calmly trying to mask a slight annoyance in his voice.

"You remember those spy bug cameras I asked you to deactivate that you used to spy on my family?" I cringed going into detail. Years ago Vlad and my dad accused each other of stealing plans for new ghost inventions. Vlad went fruitloop and secretly placed spy bugs in my dad's house. The cameras were cleverly devised to resemble lady bugs to hide their real purpose if ever noticed. Fortunately I could hear the intricate electronic sounds and discovered what they really were when I found some. Carolyn was very angry at Vlad for it and it was a sore subject.

"Daniel, why are you bringing this up?" Vlad asked with a strain of embarrassment in his voice.

"Yeah, I know this is going to seem like an odd request, but can you reactivate the bugs?" I was hoping that Vlad would have a way to do this remotely so I could see what was going on at my house. I heard footsteps and the door creaked open. He was already in his silk robe house coat and he looked a bit weary. He leaned toward me in a whisper.

"Daniel, this is a touchy subject. You know I could probably reactivate them. The problem is that they are locked away in your dad's vault. Why on earth would you want me to do this?" Vlad asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Mom and dad aren't picking up. I think something may be wrong and I maybe I could see what's going on with the cameras. Wait, you said you stuck them in the vault?" I had to rethink my strategy.

"Yes Daniel. Although within the vault they are in an open cabinet with your dad's other electronics if memory serves me. However, the fact they are in the vault means there is no sense in trying to activate them." Vlad rubbed his eyes. I could tell the journey finally was catching up with him.

"Well I'm hoping that dad finally installed that emergency keypad inside that opens the vault if someone gets locked in." I explained. The latch dad finally remembered to install broke one time when Jazz and I got trapped, so we needed a backup system to open the vault door. Dad said he would install it and I hoped he finally did.

"Let me go down to the lab and see what I can do, hang on a minute." Vlad grabbed a flashlight in case the backup generator failed and headed out with me. The backup lights were flickering and I hoped the generator wasn't starting to act up again. As we went down to the lab I thought it a good time to bring up the anomaly Nathan and I witnessed earlier.

"Oh, Nathan and I saw some weird bluish light surrounding the circuit breaker. It moved away from the breaker and turned into the form of an eel and tried to bust open the door to the ghost portal. Then it just phased through the lab door and disappeared." I quickly explained.

"You saw this and you didn't think to tell me?" Vlad sounded upset. That didn't go as well as planned.

"Nathan told me he would tell you." I defended but knew that line wouldn't fly.

"I don't care. You ALWAYS make sure to tell me yourself!" Vlad retorted.

"It seemed pretty minor at the time. It just flew away and disappeared." I replied.

"When dealing with an unknown threat even if its actions appear non-hostile, you should always alert me to it." Vlad cautioned as we both phased into the lab. Vlad walked over to the console that monitored his ghost portal and spoke.

"Computer, activate backup internal lab shield around the portal door." Vlad instructed.

"Shield is now active lamb chop." The female computer voice replied as a slight greenish glow now surrounding the portal door. I internally laughed when I heard the voice say lamb chop. Vlad still had such an ego. At least Carolyn was here so he wasn't using the Carolyn hologram as well.

"Computer, open and close the portal door and analyze." Vlad responded and the door opened and shut with ease several times.

"The portal door is within acceptable operating parameters. The structural integrity of the door is functioning at 100 percent stud muffin." Vlad had a faint blush when she said that.

"You programmed the computer to call you stud muffin?" I said barely able to contain a laugh.

"If you must know, I programmed the computer to say this when it just sees me. Some time ago Carolyn and I got into a fight and she left for a week to visit her sister. The computer is set to talk sweetly to me if it thinks I am by myself and need comfort words." Vlad said clearing his throat.

"Fruitloop." I muttered.

"Daniel, let's stay focused on the matter at hand. I am going to start the program to activate the spy camera bugs however the bugs have a load time of about 10 minutes to reinitialize. This could take longer since they have been dormant so long." Vlad explained as he began to type commands into his phone.

"Why so long?" I asked. I was frustrated and wanted to find out what was happening at my house.

"If I try to force the cameras to boot up too fast I risk damaging them. They haven't been used in quite sometime." Vlad replied.

"How long of a time?" I couldn't remember exactly when my dad and Vlad called a truce.

"Eight months ago. The same time when Carolyn and I got into a fight and she left for a week." Vlad said with a saddened voice. That must've been some fight to finally get Vlad to be the first to call a truce.

"Honey pie, there is something I discovered with the portal door. Although structurally sound there is a slight variation in the temporal state of the dust in the middle of the door." The computer voice echoed.

"That's odd. This warrants a closer look." Vlad looked concerned as he walked up to the door grabbing some tweezers and clipped on the mid-section of the portal door. He then dropped the contents which seemed barely visible even with my ghost vision, into a test tube and sealed it.

"You said the eel like creature you saw was trying to bang on the portal door. It looks like it left some very strange evidence behind." Vlad looked at me inquisitively.

"Let me guess, temporal state means the dust is fluctuating in and out of current time?" I asked curiously.

"That's precisely what is happening Little Badger." Vlad replied. I had ended up learning something about temporal mechanics even though it was not my most favorite subject.

"That means the eel or whatever it was is probably fluctuating out of our space and time which explains why I couldn't even sense it when it was here. Then that might mean the entity is not able to fully exist in our current time. It may also be out of phase as I can't sense it." As crazy as it sounded it was the only thing that made sense.

"It also may mean that the eel came from the same place that the entity came from, though I can't be certain. At least this better explains why the regular ghost catching equipment would have no effect on it. On another note, I think the spy cameras are ready to fully activate." Vlad replied as he continued typing on his phone.

"Finally!" I cheered.

"Spy cameras are now up and running at 100 percent efficiency. Default scout camera 1 will now be displayed on the viewer screen butter cup." The computer said as a screen came on and I could now see through the eyes of one of the main camera bugs. I saw the other bugs flying either side of the view screen as the main scout flew to the vault door and fortunately, the keypad was installed and the key lights were on so I knew it had power. Thank God dad remembered!

Vlad's fingers seemed to type at lightening speed as the view of the room rotated from left to right and then forward again as it arrived at the keypad next the door to the inside of the vault.

"Go ahead and type your code on the phone. I programmed the default scout camera bug to hit the pad of each number you type." Vlad said as he handed the phone to me. I carefully typed 0-7-5-2. With each digit the scout bumped the keypad and a beep was heard to let me know it had managed to press the key. Upon completion of the code, I heard the sound of gears and watched as the door clicked open and was ajar several inches. That was more than enough room as the camera bugs buzzed through and into a dimly lit hallway. I held my breath as the camera view bobbed slightly while heading down the hallway of my home. The audio of the cameras was on but I heard no sounds of anyone upstairs. Before the cameras could head upstairs the view screen suddenly went black.

"Aw come on!" I protested.

"As I feared. The spy cameras were up and running but hadn't been fully recharged yet. They were flying on residual charge before they died and we lost contact." Vlad looked frustrated.

"How long before they fully charge?" I asked worriedly.

"You're looking at a minimum of several hours." Vlad replied as he glanced at his watch.

"We can't wait that long. We need to head back to Amity and see what's happening at my house!" I protested. I was beyond frustrated at the moment.

"I agree. I'll have to inform the staff and let Carolyn know to get packed. You go alert Nathan." Vlad quickly teleported in a puff of smoke. I tried to teleport to my bedroom to tell Nathan the news right away but I was so emotionally stressed I couldn't focus clearly enough. I ended up having to fly back upstairs. As I floated up I ran into Martha.

"The Master tells me you are all having to leave again. It's such a shame as you just arrived back from your journey. You haven't even had a full nights rest." Martha said as she was fiddling with her duster. I know how much the ghost crew missed us after Vlad having to move to Amity Park when he became Mayor.

"I know Martha, but I need to check on my family to see if they're alright." I hated to leave everyone so quickly but too much crazy stuff was going on and I needed some answers.

As I flew to my room I heard Carolyn in the distance complaining somewhat about last minute packing. I could tell she sounded a bit cranky and tired after preparing to rest for the remainder of the afternoon, but at least it was warmer at Amity Park. I felt awkward however as I didn't mean to eavesdrop while Nathan and I were packing, but my ghost hearing enabled me to hear things whether I wanted to or not.

"I know we need to get there in a hurry. I just was looking forward to...well you know...cuddles and..." Carolyn said softly to Vlad.

"I know honey. Hopefully it will be something minor. After the storm that nearly flooded downtown Jack has a spare bedroom for us in just such emergencies." Vlad replied.

"I think you mean ever since the castle got destroyed that time you and Daniel got into a prank war." Carolyn chuckled. I'm glad she wasn't as upset with me as I feared during that incident. She told me she was more upset with the GIW's reaction to my prank call which was fortunate for me. Vlad on the other hand was a different story.

"I'm grateful I listened to you and kept our most precious items hidden in the basement. You were concerned about tornadoes and harped at me about it till I finally relented." Vlad reminisced.

"It was a rather nice excuse to get away and stay at a hotel. Of course then the helicopters came and blew off my shower towel as the wall of the hotel became intangible. I thought Daniel would've left me alone as I know he didn't want you to have to suffer in our little skirmish." Vlad grumbled.

"He thought I was still at my sisters. Good thing my bathrobe was big enough to cover you." Carolyn added.

"But it was still embarrassing to have that snapshot on the cover of the Fortunate Magazine. I may have been covered as you wrapped the extra part of your robe around me but people still could tell I had just gotten out of the shower." Vlad groaned at the thought of it.

"Remember what it said on the cover? I do. 'Mayor Vlad Masters Revealing Moments'. " Carolyn chuckled. I was stirred out of my thoughts as I heard Nathan walk up to me.

"Hey, badger. I think we need to pack extra clothes in case we get snowed in at your dad's house." Nathan said as he tossed some extra thermals into his suitcase.

"At least I hope it's warmer at Amity Park than here." I hoped. I was so done with the extra cold weather.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 The Return to Amity

**Klaatu: This will be an intense chapter as the team goes back to Amity to find some surprises and new discoveries that reveal more of the creature's past. The last chapter was short but this chapter will well make up for it. This will have a lot more character interaction as Danny returns to Fentonworks. Things will get a bit crazy for everyone but all will become revealed in time. I had a blast writing this chapter and put some humorous moments in it to help through the suspenseful parts. If I say anymore I'd give too much away. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Checkmate or Endgame**

Danny's POV

We all said our goodbyes and walked into the lab back at the ghost portal. It seemed like deja vu in that we just arrived here only yesterday and already we were heading back. The portal doors opened and we flew back into the Ghost Zone which was much colder now. Skulker and Ember weren't kidding when they said even the Far Frozen was warmer. I could feel the icy cold wind on me even with the thermals as Vlad and Carolyn created a joint shield around the family to thwart off some of the cold air. Nathan had Maddie the cat covered with an extra layer of blanket over her carrier but she still complained with an extra long and loud meow.

As we approached the edge of hyperspace I heard the familiar sounds of police sirens. I looked behind me and saw Walker about a half mile away trying to catch up to us in one of his ghost cars.

"We need to step on it. Walker just spotted us!" I alerted everyone. Immediately Carolyn turned around and began waving her hands around. Soon a medium tall vortex of green cloud appeared between us and Walker's car. As it grew I could see Walker's car being pulled toward it. The car pulled into reverse fighting the mini twister, the tires spinning so hard they began to smoke. As he finally broke free of the funnel cloud we entered hyperspace in the nick of time. Walker was furious and began to yell.

"Where did you go punks? You can run from Walker but you can't hide! I'll be looking for you." Walker growled. Apparently hyperspace was invisible to ghosts as well. To Walker, it was as if we simply vanished in thin air. He was none the wiser.

We glided along hyperspace which was a few degrees warmer than the Ghost Zone. Apparently hyperspace wasn't as closely connected to earth's dimension as the Ghost Zone. Something to study about later since I gathered it would be neck deep in all kinds of theories involving space travel since I was planning to become an astronaut. The eerie starless twilight rippled almost like an ocean. I looked off in the distance for a sign I placed long time ago that had a rocket on it. This as my dad's portal which was sometimes tricky to spot so I placed a sign in the ghost zone with a picture to make it easier to locate.

As the sign with the rocket on it came into view I was still amazed at how quickly we arrived. I noticed that the traveling time varied when skipping through hyperspace which lead me to suspect that hyperspace was constantly changing slightly in size. This time it only took a little over a half an hour to arrive at my folks' portal. This was a far cry from taking a plane from Wisconsin to Amity Park.

"Looks like Fentonworks. Now we best proceed with caution. There's no telling what we might find there. You boys let us adults go through first." Carolyn said as the sign came closer into view. I felt pretty much like I was an adult already, but I understood that Vlad and Carolyn had years of ghost experience on both of us.

"Wow, dad finally remembered to lock the portal door." I commented as I typed a number at the keypad entrance to the portal door. Dad had a thing with keypads. As long as they worked and he remembered to install them I didn't complain. We all transformed into our human selves as I typed in the same numbers I used to open the vault, fortunately the pad had a cover on it so no ghost would see what I typed as the portal door began to slowly open up. Vlad and Carolyn jumped in ahead of us.

"There's no one in the lab but the main lab light looks like it was left on." Carolyn noticed as we all began to walk through into dads' basement. I flipped my phone recorder on to see if it might catch anything suspicious that I might overlook. There were possibly ghosts floating around that I was unable to sense!

"Mom...dad...Jazz?" I called but no answer. I had a lump in my throat as I strained with my ghost hearing for the slightest sound of my family but only silence. Carolyn and Vlad were in front of us and Carolyn held her hand behind motioning us to be still as she slowly opened the lab door enough to peek outside. It would've been so much easier if we could've all gone intangible but mom and dad didn't know that I as well as Vlad's family had ghost powers.

"I see a light on upstairs. Let's head to the living room...slowly and you kids stay behind us." Carolyn reminded us. As we finally entered into the area of the main living room I wasn't prepared for what I saw. Everyone was sitting down on a sofa but sitting straight up, yet all eyes were shut. The television was on and it was truly an eerie sight. The answering machine was flickering fast so there were probably a load of messages on it. Mom and dad looked like they were facing the television while they apparently fell asleep if that's what you could call it. Jazz had a magazine on her lap of top ten colleges. It was opened and she also sat straight up, eyes wide shut.

"I see rapid eye movement. They must be dreaming." Vlad said as we all looked closer at everyone.

"Do you think they all have been drugged?" Nathan asked as he viewed the strange sight.

"I don't know Little Lemur, anything is possible. I think we should try waking them up, I'll start with Jack." Vlad said scratching his beard as he scanned around for any clues. Nathan rolled his eyes upward at the nickname his dad gave him. It sounded about as ridiculous as when Vlad called me Little Badger.

Vlad walked over to dad and lightly tapped him on the shoulder. My dad grumbled and turned his head but no other reaction. Vlad sighed and then leaned into his ear.

"I spot a ghost!" Vlad said and immediately Jack began to stir as if having ice cold water poured on him. He then tried to sit up.

"Freeze ghost!" Dad said as his eyes fluttered to open. They briefly opened and then shut again but twitching as if he was fighting to open them up. As he opened up his eyes again they looked silverly and pupiless like the entity. I then saw his arms become like long fins flopping as he looked around. I kept focus despite the weird sight and clapped my hands loudly in front of Jazz. She opened her eyes and they too were silver and pupiless. I glanced over to mom who heard the commotion of everyone waking and she also had the same eerie look.

"What happened here!? Does everyone else see what I'm seeing...my family look like fish people!" I gasped seeing the strange sight of my family looking like aquatic humanoid versions of themselves.

"I see it too Daniel." Vlad said and everyone looked stunned.

"Do you think there's a contagion in the house?" Carolyn looked nervously at Vlad.

"If so we've already been exposed to it. Hopefully if it's ghost related we might be immune to it." Nathan added as he looked around for anything else out of the ordinary. As I looked again at my mom my jaw dropped. She had developed gills on either side of her neck. Everyone was awake now and I just was looking stunned at the sight. Even weirder was that no one was acting like anything was strange. It was as if my family thought they were suppose to look like this!

"Mom, since when did you grow gills?" I asked. Mom looked at me as her gills opened and closed.

"Oh honey, stop asking silly questions. You need to stay hidden with us." Mom replied in a normal voice. This was so getting stranger by the minute.

"What are you...uh..we suppose to be hiding from?" I asked trying to find out what she was saying.

"The bright light. It's looking for us and if we don't stay hid, it will reach us and kill us." She replied.

"It's safer here sport." Jack added as looked at me. I thought it equally odd how my family acted like I had never left to Wisconsin and didn't get up to give me a hug. It was if they were under some kind of weird spell. As if things couldn't get crazier I looked outside at the cloudy late afternoon sky. I saw what at first I thought was sunlight peeking through the clouds till it became brighter and the whole sky was lighting up like a huge super nova in slow motion.

"It's the light dad, its so bright we'll need to pull the blinds!" Jazz ran up and wrapped her fin-like hands around the current rope and frantically pulled the currents shut. It did no good as the light began to literally burn a hole in the curtain as it was so intense. I could feel the warmth of it on me. This was not my idea of staying warm!

"Quick everyone, let's head to the lab!" Mom yelled as everyone jumped up with fins for feet and began to flop on their bellies and slide quickly out of the living room back downstairs towards the lab.

I yanked out my phone and filmed the sight as we hurried with them down the stairs. As we hurried down the stairs it seemed like the stairs kept increasing in length. We were all running that is, except for my family that somehow managed to wiggle fast down the steps, but the rest of us wasn't making any headway.

"This isn't making any sense!" Carolyn exclaimed visibly alarmed by everything happening.

"Dad, what is happening?!" Nathan hollered as he struggled to run as fast as he could but it seemed as if the hallway appeared to stretch so he made no headway.

"I think we may be hallucinating." Vlad said as he stopped for a moment and motioned with his hands for us to do the same.

"Jasmine, what is 2 times 7?" Vlad then asked. Seriously, he wanted to quiz the top valedictorian at Casper High with a simple math problem?

"It's not important! We need to get to shelter?" Jazz replied.

"Where is the light coming from? Why is it hurting us?" Carolyn then jumped in and asked.

"It is from those who would seek to harm us. We do not know why they are, they just want to hurt us!" Mom said in a loud voice as she kept flopping on down an infinite growing stairs that never reached a destination.

"Doesn't everyone find it odd we've been running for over 5 minutes and aren't any closer to the lab that is only about a 30 second or so walk from the living room?" I asked. No one answered.

"Madeline, what would you do if I could tell you I can go ghost?" Carolyn said. Vlad look horrified at Carolyn.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing?!" Vlad looked pale with shock.

"As long as you can stay out of the light, that's all that matters! We must save ourselves from the burning rays!" Mom responded.

"Baby I don't think we're hallucinating. I think we are all dreaming right now!" Carolyn explained. It made perfect sense. The infinite stairs that seemed to defy reality and the crazy questions and comments that no one responded to in any reasonable way.

"I had my suspicions we might be dreaming as Jazz has never resisted answering a math problem." Vlad added. I had to agree with him on this as she loved to show off what she knew at times. But that concerned paled to the dream we were apparently all stuck in. I had to keep focus.

"How do we wake up?!" I hollered trying to jolt myself into consciousness. I was tired enough after our travels in the Ghost Zone and hyperspace, now this!

"We have to startle ourselves to wake up. I think if we run back to where the light is we'll snap out of it." Carolyn replied.

"But what if you're wrong?" Nathan asked as Vlad and Carolyn turned around.

"I don't think we'll have to worry about it. I have a hunch." Carolyn replied, but as they tried to run back toward to the living room it was as if they were standing running in place. They made no more headway than when we were all trying to get to the basement lab. We must've been running over 10 minutes already and even with ghost powers I was getting out of breath.

"I have an idea!" Nathan yelled and then he inhaled and let out one of the loudest and most blood curdling screams I ever heard. It almost rivaled my ghostly wail!

The next moment, the entire scene of the hallway stairs faded and we were all back in the living room. I looked at everyone again and they were all normal, no fish appendages whatsoever. Everyone however looked stunned at each other. The sky looked normal and I had hoped this time we were actually awake.

"Man did I have the strangest dream. Hey sport" Dad said.

"I had a weird dream too. We were all fish people and yet it was like we were always this way. Oh sweetie, so good to see you!" Mom spoke as we gave each other hugs. Jazz ran up to me and gave me a squeeze.

"I missed you baby brother!" She said. All this emotion was getting a little awkward. She loved to call me baby brother even though I was far from being baby age.

"I missed all of you too. I was worried when no one answered the phone and so we had to check and see what was going on." I said.

"But how could we all have shared the same dream?" Jazz asked as she looked stunned, her magazine now had slipped onto the floor.

"I think we've been under attack by a ghost." Maddie replied, her eyes narrowed at the thought. I noticed Vlad and Carolyn pulling out their phones.

"Carolyn and I have set up alarms on our phones that will go off every 10 minutes. It will be like an audible splash of water. It may be annoying, but it's the best we can do for now to prevent whoever or whatever may be trying to lull us to fall back to sleep." Vlad said as he turned the volume up on his phone.

"I still don't get how we could all have shared the same dream. This sounds like something Nocturne would pull." Nathan said with a stunned look on his face.

"This doesn't seem quite like Nocturne's style. He used dream helmets to affect everyone before but this time no one was wearing any helmets, but we all fell asleep just the same." I said. This was creepier the more I thought about it.

"So we shared something in the collective unconscious. We studied this in psychology." Jazz asked.

"It still doesn't explain how we all feel asleep. Do you think we were exposed to some sleeping gas?" Nathan asked.

"I've done an air check, there's nothing out of the ordinary. Whatever happened, I can't explain nor determine how or why we were able to be put to sleep." Carolyn said as she looked at her phone. She geared her smart phone to be able to even check air quality in an room. Who knew? I was curious how she rigged her phone to do this.

"How are you able to read the air quality in the room?" I asked her. I was just too curious to let this slide.

"It reads a spectrum of light invisible to the naked eye that shows the gases present in a current atmosphere, but that is the least of our concerns at the moment. I suggest we all should stay physically active. Also, I think putting on some of the strongest coffee would be a smart idea." Carolyn said as she rubbed her eyes. I couldn't agree more as I shot straight to the kitchen.

"Maddie dear, can you extract blood samples of everyone?" Vlad asked. He knew mom had studied nursing school as a minor in college along with major in physics. This came in handy at times as dad got himself injured so much, which made sense.

"I'll get the testers ready." Mom replied as she went down to the lab.

I decided to check on my phone to see if anything recorded anything while I was asleep. Sure enough, there was a recording, but it was just everyone in the living room with blank stares. We hadn't ever left anywhere, then an idea dawned on me.

"Dad, I need to check our security footage. Maybe it will shed some clues." Dad may have been clumsy at times but he was brilliantly thorough.

"Sure son, I'd like to go with you and check to see what shows up." Oh oh. Dad and I looking at things together never worked out. One time I had a report due at school and he offered to help me with it and accidentally hit the delete button on my computer. That was an extra painful late homework grade of C minus. I was relieved it wasn't a D as I guess this time even Lancer felt sorry for me.

"No, you should stay here with the family and keep an eye out for any creepy ghosts." I suggested and made a dash toward the Fenton Tower.

"That's my boy, always thinking things through." Dad said proudly. I hurried to the controls room and flipped on the tape. As I rewound everyone was awake doing normal stuff sitting down, then they just all at once closed their eyes. I rewound the security footage back to the point where their eyes began to shut and studied frame by frame but nothing unusual except them just closing their eyes. I looked at some other security tapes of the outside of our home but still nothing. Then I rewound the footage outside and saw what looked like a slight distortion of light and shadows that momentarily formed the outline of a large fish-like shape...the entity! Apparently the creature had now learned to become invisible. I flipped out my phone and captured the recording. This was troubling. I ran back downstairs and was greeted by mom.

"Oh sweetie, there you are. Here." She stuck me with a tester needle. She and I had an agreement that when I was about to get a shot she would surprise me so I wouldn't get as stressed about it. It still hurt however..

"Ouch!" I jumped but she had already drawn some blood.

"Sorry dear. I tried to catch you unexpectedly so you wouldn't worry about it. I know how much you hate shots." My mom had no idea. Going to get vaccinated was almost as bad as facing one of Lancer's pop quizzes when I use to not have time to study for them.

"I think I found our culprit. It looks like the ghost creature that is bothering us both at the Mayoral mansion and Vlad's home castle in Wisconsin." I explained as I replayed the clip on my phone in front of everyone.

"See that distortion, that is the creature becoming partially invisible. This creature however leaves a tell tale sign of distortion of light around it. It can't turn fully invisible like a regular ghost can. It's different somehow." I analyzed as I replayed the footage.

"Maybe it's not really a ghost at all." Carolyn said. Everyone shot a look of disbelief at her.

"Think about it. Just because something can appear and disappear or go through walls doesn't mean it is a ghost outright. What if this creature can simply manipulate light and matter." Carolyn lost everyone but Jazz, mom and Vlad. They were the physics fanatics.

"Like when the blades of a fan spin very fast, they almost seem to be transparent." Mom replied.

"Exactly! I recall the article we studied back in college where scientists were able to bend microwaves around an object with very little distortion. What if this creature found a way to do this with light itself? Then it could appear invisible." Carolyn said.

"And solid matter might be able to exist in a different state to pass through other solids like some theories I've read." Vlad suggested. Of course none of us could tell anyone we all contained ghost energy that allowed us to do this or as Carolyn likes to dub it as 'quantum energy'.

"Well enough with theories, let's just focus on what we have seen so far and maybe set up a ghost shield to keep out any unwelcome intruders." Carolyn suggested.

"Already on it!" Dad replied as he ran to the lab to activate the Fenton Ghost Shield as he liked to call it. I saw the pot of coffee on the stove and knew I needed some. Mom had finished where I started and fortunately she always kept extra strong coffee for when mom and dad use to have to have parent/teacher conferences about my progress or lack of it.

"We should also each wear a Fenton Specter Deflector belt to keep the ghosts from bothering us." Mom said while she was pouring coffee. I knew that Vlad, Carolyn and Nathan wouldn't be thrilled with a belt. If an emergency came up and they needed to exit and go ghost, that would be one more thing to get in the way.

"Thanks Maddie, but I get a rash when I wear a belt." Carolyn answered.

"Belts remind me of snakes and I'm deathly afraid of them." Nathan added.

"I can't wear anything like that on me because I'm a bit claustrophobic about things wrapped around me." Vlad said and cast a glance at me. He watched the other timeline where I tricked him with the 'new dad' gag and locked the belt on him. That was one crazy timeline, as if the new one wasn't crazy already. Although it was much better for Vlad, at times it was crazier in a lot of other ways.

"Well, if you change your minds I have plenty of spare belts for everyone." Mom smiled as she brought the coffee cups over to us. As she left to take the run tests on the blood samples, I glanced at the television and saw the weatherman Lance Thunder come on.

"_This is Lance Thunder here. Amity Park is expected to get hit with the Polar Vortex as it dips down further over the next 24 hours."_ He said already looking cold as he stood out in the wind at the Amity Park Airport.

"Oh great! It's Friday afternoon. I barely have time to see Sam and Tucker before a big snowstorm hits!" I wanted to tell them I was back in town. The ghost shield was up so hopefully our 'visitor' wouldn't be unable to bother us for a while. I ran down to the lab where mom was and crossed my fingers.

"Mom, do you think I could go hang with Sam and Tucker for a bit?" I didn't want to get their hopes up as this recent ghost attack would have mom on guard. At least I suspected that this spectral being wasn't actually after me wish was a rare experience for me. It seemed to come around whenever Vlad or Carolyn was present.

"I don't know honey. I don't think it's safe for you to go out right now." Mom said.

"I could wear the Specter Deflector. No ghost would be able to attack me with this on." I offered hoping that would be enough. As long as I had the key I could get it off fast enough in an emergency.

"Well, OK. But keep that belt on at all times." She stressed as she was looking at the samples of blood under a microscope.

"Great, thanks mom!" I replied. They were so much more lenient with my visiting friends after my grades shot back up to A's. It was so weird being an A plus student. I even had time to try out for football but decided against it as I knew it wouldn't be fair. I would be too tempted to use my ghost powers even unconsciously. I decided to speed dial Sam's house.

"_This is the Manson residence. No one is available right now. Please leave a message after the tone." _ The machine recording said and I was puzzled. It was after 3 pm. Where was everybody? I decided to call Tucker's phone. He had his own private line since getting a part time job at the school. Hopefully he might know where Sam is.

"_You have reached the home of Tucker Foley. I will be home after 4:00 pm today as I will be returning from a field trip. Please leave your name and number and I will return your call as soon as possible."_

Now I remembered the field trip was today. No wonder I had extra make up homework from Lancer!

I decided to call the arcade in the meantime. It was a good thing I did as their recording said they would close by 3:30 today because of the pending storm. That meant the only other option was to invite Sam and Tucker over here. It wouldn't be as good as the arcade, but we did have some video games and we could all spend some time together at least.

Mom came up from the basement just in time. I hated having to bother her again while she was doing lab work but this was my social life.

"Mom, can Sam and Tucker come over here instead?" I hoped she would say 'yes.'

"I'm not so sure that's such a good idea. We may be attacked again by that ghost if the shields aren't able to keep it out." Mom replied. Time for my backup plan.

"I know but imagine how much SAFER they'll be in a home with the Fenton Shield up. And the creature whatever it is hasn't tried to attack Amity Park. And just think, they could try on the Specter Deflectors." I knew mom had a weak spot for having hers and dad's technology being tested by anyone. I hoped my argument was good enough to convince her.

"Oh alright, but you should caution them about the ghost troubles we've been having." Mom replied as dad returned from the control station area of the house.

"Hey, it's Amity Park. Ghost hauntings is a way of life for us." I chuckled. It was true. Our town even made national news as the number one place for ghost appearances and ghost related invasions. I speed dialed and left a message on both machines for Sam and Tucker. I know they would be disappointed about the arcade but that was beyond my control. As I hung up I overheard mom in the living room sounding frustrated.

"I can't find anything from the blood samples Carolyn. Oh, but Jack, you need to lay off some of the fudge, your cholesterol and blood sugar is through the roof!" She cautioned. She had to stay on dad to make sure he took care of himself and worked on losing weight. He would start to shed some pounds until he would sneak a bite of cake or ice cream and gain it all back again. That was my dad.

"Well, let's focus on what we do know. I believe the creature is trying to communicate with us somehow. Vlad and I think the creature blames the proto portal for the death of its race." Carolyn explained somberly.

"Why would it blame the extinction of its species on the proto portal?" Mom asked looking stunned.

"What we found out so far is that the creature appears to have arrived at a point from the past. We aren't exactly sure how it got here but it appears the proto portal blast years ago pulled it into this place." Carolyn explained.

"Do you think the portal opened a rift in space time that brought it here?" Maddie asked very curious.

"I don't know if the blast opened a rift or joined to an already existing tear in space time. What I do know is according to a picture we took in the Ghost Zone, the creature came through some rift that showed star constellations that were in the neighborhood of 440 million years old." Carolyn explained, her eyes widened as she went into detail.

"That's the Ordovician period, wasn't there believed to be a mass extinction that may have been caused by a gamma ray burst?" Mom asked. Mom was good. She was a straight A major in physics, minor in nursing and even knew some paleobiology.

"Exactly. This creature thinks the rays that hit the planet long ago originated from the proto portal. Under the ocean the light flare that occurs during a supernova looks a lot like the rays from the proto portal when viewed under the salt water at a depth of past 20 feet. We ran a program with the computer so they looked identical." Carolyn added as she sipped her coffee.

"So this ghost creature thinks we killed off its species? That makes it dangerous even if it can't do a lot to us at the moment. It's probably looking for a way to hurt us." Mom said with sadness in her voice.

"Probably mostly you and Jack since it was your experiment. I don't know if it knows you were the ones in charge of the experiment. I do know it sounds very angry and hurt. It also seems to act like it empathizes with my husband, though I am uncertain as to why." Carolyn looked puzzled as she contemplated the creatures' behavior.

"Maybe because Vlad got hurt." Mom explained looking uncomfortable. She didn't like bringing up past blunders dad had caused.

"I was hurt too. But it seems to be very focused on Vlad for some reason. That is a mystery I still have yet to solve." Carolyn added. She stirred her coffee some more as she was pensive in thought.

"Well, maybe we can solve it together." Mom assured Carolyn. Mom like myself knew how much Carolyn hated to have a mystery especially when dealing with a ghost. She didn't like to be stumped and most likely was thinking of anything she overlooked. My thoughts were interrupted as my phone rang. It was Tucker.

"Hey dude! You're finally back! You missed the most boring field trip in the world!" Tucker shot in a slightly irked voice.

"Yeah, unfortunately the creature followed us back as well." I lamented.

"Dude, you seriously need to pick better friends." Tucker kidded. As I was preparing a witty comeback but then I felt a cold burst of wind. I knew the Polar Vortex was due to hit Amity Park and it felt like it was already here. I glanced outside and noticed a few random snowflakes floating down. Great! I looked forward to seeing Sam and Tucker only to face being snowed in.

"You better hurry over here before your dad changes his mind. I saw some snowflakes outside and it doesn't look good. I'm also trying to reach Sam but no one picked up." I said.

"She wanted to stay longer because of some environmental debate she was having with a dairy farmer. She's probably on the next bus so she wont be that far behind." Tucker said with a chuckle. Sam always had to have her environmental crusades.

"OK, I'll keep trying to reach her. Just head out before it gets worse and your dad gets second thoughts." I cautioned.

" I'm already on the way. See ya in a bit!" Tucker rushed as he got off the phone. My phone rang and it was finally Sam.

"Sam! I'm in town. Can you head over? Th..the arcade's a bust!" I said trying to suppress a stutter. I wanted to say how I missed her but I didn't want to sound too mushy. I knew I had strong feelings for her but I wasn't yet ready to share them.

"So you're finally back for the weekend, it's about time!" Sam was understandably angry. She was upset that I was having to check out the Wisconsin castle and missed several days of school.

"I know, it was frustrating for me too. It looks like it might snow and the Arcade is closed early due to the coming storm but the good news is I have the latest Doomed." I said.

"Well, I'm fine with just coming over. Glad there's some cloud cover outside. See ya soon." She said as she hung up. I hoped the snowflakes weren't coming down any harder.

As I headed for the rec room to get my game system up and running I overheard Vlad ask my dad about the holo program. I was curious and had a gut feeling I should listen in and decided to turn the music down a bit. I know it isn't polite to eavesdrop but I also knew that dad and Vlad's relationship was shaky at times. My dad seemed to always do things that raked on Vlad's nerves.

"Jack, did you install the holo simulator? I know you said you received the parts from me over a month ago." Vlad asked. He had to remind my dad from time to time as my dad was rather forgetful. Like the time Jazz and I were trapped in the vault because he forgot to install an internal latch. She didn't know about my ghost powers yet so we had to wait till mom or dad came back. So embarrassing!

"Got it finished just last week! It hasn't been bench tested yet although I did flick it on for a few minutes and it seemed OK." My dad said cautiously. I knew my dad could tell Vlad was still somewhat untrusting of his technology after the lab accident. I'm relieved that he didn't have to spend years in the hospital. It still must be stressful that he knows he is half-ghost around a ghost hunter. I know the feeling all too well.

"Thanks Jack. I think Carolyn and I will run some tests." Vlad answered as he and Carolyn looked at each other with concern.

"Don't we get to try it out?" Nathan protested as he was walking toward the rec room.

"I think the adults should be the ones to bench test the simulator." Carolyn smiled. She too was cautious around dad's contraptions. My poor dads' reputation proceeded him.

"Hey, maybe Badger and I can peek at you at the viewing room." Nathan smiled. He was fascinated with holo technology and had considered a career in it at one point. He also found watching his mom and dad try new tech to be entertaining, especially when it didn't always go as planned. One time it was Vlad who actually forgot to double check a reading on an upgraded version of his Plasmius Maximus. When he tested it on himself he had the zapper set a bit too high and threw himself across the room from even a light touch. He wasn't badly hurt as he had a superhuman ghost powered body. Nathan thought it was quite amusing since his dad was bragging about how thorough he was with double checking tech and bragged he would never make the kind of mistakes my dad did. Of course, Carolyn walked in the room and shot a flirtatious glance at him and he forgot to check a reading. Sounds like when my dad told me he was distracted by my mom when they were dating and poured diet cola into the ecto purifier. Vlad learned to be rather quiet about dad's mistakes after that.

"Very well son. You and Daniel may watch us." Vlad rolled his eyes as he and Carolyn walked towards dad's basement which was conveniently near the rec room. I noticed my dad do another double take looking at Carolyn. She hadn't bother dying her hair dark again and the natural auburn was showing through.

"Man honey, I can't get over how much Carolyn looks like you." My dad mentioned to mom as he looked at her.

"Just don't get any ideas Jack." Maddie said jokingly. She remembers the joke she and Carolyn were in on at the last family reunion.

-Flashback-

Carolyn decided to host a family reunion at the Wisconsin castle. Little did Vlad and Jack know they were going to be pranked. Carolyn could be quite the prankster at times and she designed her hair to look like my mom and even wore the same jumpsuit. Vlad greeted everyone at the door but hadn't seen Carolyn yet and didn't know what she was planning. As my dad came my mom asked to be excused to go to the ladies room. As he waited in the main living room hall, Carolyn came out looking just like my mom except she did her hair up a bit differently.

"Why honey, you look even more beautiful. I love what you did with your hair." My dad had gaga eyes at her as she walked toward him smiling.

"Thanks Jack, but Maddie might get jealous not to mention Vlad." She smirked with a wink. My dad's face was a beat red as he gulped and then Vlad came out in time to see my dad looking flustered.

"Vlad, your wife looks just like Maddie! I can't tell them apart!" He gasped as he struggled to remain dignified. Vlad's jaw dropped as he looked at Carolyn who smiled back at Vlad and walked over to him putting her arms around him. I think my dad was stuck with that blush for the remainder of the visit. It was weird seeing her pecking Vlad on the cheek as she smiled at us. It was like I was seeing my mom with a slightly different hairdo. I couldn't tell them apart as well and even though I knew it was Carolyn and not my mom, it still looked wrong on so many levels. He was still somewhat of a Fruitloop and yet she loved him just the same.

-End Flashback-

As I saw Vlad and Carolyn open the door to the simulator Jack wanted to watch as well. Vlad however preferred he didn't. It wasn't rational but Vlad still had misgivings about dad watching any experiment that involved Vlad as it brought back unpleasant memories of the proto portal explosion.

"We'll be fine Jack. I have precautions in place if there's a problem. Go ahead and help Maddie with the gadgets she's working on." Vlad smiled. Of course his precaution included he had a ghost shield he could throw up at a moments notice but dad didn't need to know that.

"Aw OK V-man. Holler if ya need anything." Dad walked away with a mild disappointment like a kid being told he couldn't go out and play. I knew though it was for the best. Vlad and Carolyn couldn't risk anything going wrong and dad could be a bit clumsy at times.

"You all don't mind Nathan and I watching?" I asked. I knew that Vlad actually encouraged me to study him when he was doing experiments. He knew that one of the best ways to learn was watching someone in the process of doing something. Nathan always enjoyed watching experiments as well. He like me had a natural scientific curiosity.

"Certainly." Vlad smiled as Carolyn walked over to the computer that ran the simulator.

"Run program 'Visitor', and pause first sequence." Carolyn said to the computer as she typed some command lines into the keyboard.

"Program Visitor is now engaged in pause mode." The computer voice said as the room they were in suddenly changed to look like the mayoral mansion. In the corner, a recreation of the image of the entity appeared and was immobile at the moment. Carolyn walked over to the holo image of the creature and walked around studying it. It's pupiless silvery three slit eyes on its head made it look intimidating. The long fins on either side of it reminded me of a whale's fins.

"Vlad, if this creature did originate from under the ocean, don't you find it odd that it is preferring a vertical position to the general horizontal position of swimming?" She asked as she rubbed her chin studying it.

"Some sea creatures have been known to prefer to swim more vertically like the sea horse." Vlad commented.

"Of course, the portal accident may have affected it somehow. Maybe it isn't even a ghost but has ghost powers like we do." Carolyn leaned in a whisper.

"It probably isn't best to talk about being ghosts even when whispering. I know this simulator is sound proof but we need to practice extreme caution because of who we are." Vlad reminded Carolyn. She rolled her eyes up and nodded in agreement. It was annoying have to keep a secret like this from my family. Welcome to my world!

"I notice this creature doesn't show up in any fossil records. I've checked multiple databases. It is rather large as well, like roughly the size of a dolphin." Carolyn explained as she looked at the teeth in its mouth. It was like nothing any of us at ever seen.

"It could be a previously undiscovered species." Vlad added as he took a closer inspection of the creature. There were more questions than answers the more everyone learned about it.

"Maybe it isn't even from Earth. After all, I did come from another planet even if it was a parallel Earth. It still opens up the possibility." Carolyn stated as she pulled out a mini retractable ruler and measured the height of the creature.

"I wouldn't be surprised if some of the so called ghosts Jack and Maddie chase might also be inter-dimensional aliens from other worlds as well. Based on what you have said earlier, it opens up a world of possibilities." Vlad added as he looked at the two lower fins of the creature.

"I wish I could convince Jack and Maddie that just because a creature possesses powers like that of a ghost does not make it necessarily make it a ghost. For all we know the portal accident may have changed the creature to be able to inter-dimensionally phase through objects or become invisible just like us. Or maybe it was always like this. It might sound far fetched, but when you think about such creatures as an electric eel being able to zap other creatures, it doesn't seem so crazy." Carolyn trailed.

"Just like how we can zap things with our ghost powers." Vlad responded pensively as he walked around the creature.

"Spectral energy is probably just another type of particle of energy that we just don't have a name for. It is measurable and can affect other things. There is just so much we don't know. I wish we knew more about this creature and its intentions." Carolyn looked concerned. It was distressing that the creature could do what it could. I couldn't even detect it with my ghost breath. It truly was an anomaly.

"Visitor Simulation phase 2." The computer voice said. Carolyn looked puzzled.

"I didn't tell the computer to run another simulation and I certainly don't know what Simulation 2 even means." Carolyn snapped mildly annoyed.

"I have a feeling we're about to find out." Vlad said with a worried look on his face.

I stood outside the lab looking into the window as the room suddenly changed and dissolved into a replication of Vlad's Rocky Mountain Chalet. Carolyn's hair was slightly reconfigured so she now looked identical to my mom and even had the signature light blue jumpsuit that mom wore. Vlad had been reconfigured to wearing his lounging silk bathrobe. I also could tell he had a slight blush remembering this was the timeline when he trapped me and my mom after tricking us to go to a phony DALV group seminar for moms and their kids.

"Computer, end simulation!" Vlad said frantically. I could see he was visibly upset.

"Wow, we should visit this more often. This would make a nice romantic get away when Nathan and Daniel are on field trips." Carolyn smiled. She forgot about my extra strong ghost hearing. I smirked internally. I pretended not to hear anything but it was funny to hear them talk. Nathan looked a bit uncomfortable as he watched them.

"Why do parents love to embarrass their kids." Nathan muttered. I asked myself this same question many a time.

"This is serious Carolyn! The simulator is acting up and shouldn't be malfunctioning this way." Vlad said as he was getting more angry about the program and probably silently blamed dad for it.

"I think you look charming in the robe." Carolyn smiled.

"And the kids can see everything." Vlad reminded. They apparently both forgot we could HEAR everything as well.

"You are not authorized to end simulation." The computer answered. It was delayed in its response which sounded like it was being overloaded and slowed down by something...or maybe someone.

"What do you mean I'm not authorized? Confound it, Jack...what did you do to this!?" Vlad asked wishing he had allowed Jack to watch after all. My dad always seems to get blamed by default when something goes wrong.

"Computer, freeze simulation!" Carolyn ordered. No response as a simulation of the fireplace lit and then some soft music then came on.

"This is so embarrassing. I don't like being reminded of this other timeline." Vlad complained as he sought to type in commands on the computer keyboard.

"Maybe we should leave the simulation till Jack can take a look at it." Carolyn said. She avoided mentioning about the other timeline as much as possible. She knew that Vlad was the epitome of misbehavior in that timeline trying to constantly hit on and seduce my mom. He knew it as well and hated being reminded of it. There was a strange familiar crackle like the sound I heard back at Casper High when the entity invaded and disrupted Lancer's class.

"Do you remember this Vlad? I remember. I saw what your life was like before Carolyn changed everything." The computer voice said taking on a life of its own.

"Why are you doing this?!" Vlad was now shouting at the computer.

"You should know. You sought Maddie because you felt you deserved her, especially after the accident. You felt she owed you to leave Jack and marry you after what you suffered. You felt all those years in the hospital robbed you of the chance to win her away from him. What you didn't realize is that those moves would never have made a difference." The computer voice said accusingly.

"I never experienced that timeline. I had the chance in this timeline and she still chose Jack just like I eventually chose Carolyn! What you're doing makes no sense. I not that same man!" Vlad shot back angrily at the computer.

"But you are. Even in the other timeline where you never were hit with the portal, you had to lie to Maddie to get her to leave Jack and marry you. You lied saying Jack blamed Maddie for the proto portal accident. Then she called you a lying piece of cheese once she learned of your deception. The timeline may be changed, but you were always evil even before the accident. What makes you think you can truly be different now?" The computer said. Vlad looked saddened at being reminded of what he had been like. I guess he probably wondered if he was evil in two different timelines, was he really so different in this new one? Maybe he wondered if he truly deserved to even be with Carolyn. Then Carolyn broke the silence.

"This makes no sense. Of course he has faults. I have them too but we are both working to better ourselves. Why are you so interested in bringing up Vlad's past? What is so important that it needs to keep being brought up?" Carolyn asked.

"Because Vlad got another chance, my companion didn't! I also saw the ones you call Jack and Maddie but I didn't see who fired the deadly blast. When I see who did they will suffer for what they stole from me!" The computer shouted with raw emotion in its otherwise electronic unemotional voice.

At that moment the image flickered dissolving the image of the living room in the Chalet and then everything disappeared leaving Vlad and Carolyn looking normal again. She looked at Vlad as he typed on the keyboard but nothing worked.

"I think the entity got into this keyboard and fried it. Can you double check with Jack that the ghost shield is up?" Vlad asked Carolyn. Nathan and I ran over to the spare lab where mom and dad were working.

"Mom, can you check to see if the ghost shield is up?" I asked.

"Well I turned it on. It should still be up." She said as she looked at her portable monitor. Her eyes widened as she viewed it.

"Jack, you didn't turn off the shield did you?" Mom asked.

"I left it alone. Why? Is it off?" Dad asked. My mom immediately typed commands into the monitor and I heard the hum of the shield being reinitialized. How could it have been turned off I thought. Just then I heard footsteps off in the distance that I sounded like Sam and Tucker. They were a couple of streets away from the sound. I was still surprised they had come so quickly

"Man they're almost here already." I exclaimed. Either time had flown faster than usual or Sam and Tucker had developed super speed. I turned to Nathan and he read my mind.

"I'll join you all in the rec room in a few minutes. I need to make sure mom and dad don't have any other problems." Nathan said. At that note I thought it best to join him as I felt as brilliant as the Masters family was, an extra pair of eyes couldn't hurt.

"I heard the shield go back up so hopefully there wont be any." I answered as I ran upstairs toward the living room I noticed Jazz was reading a psychology book seemingly unaware of the problems downstairs. As I made it to the door and checked the peep hole, sure enough it was both of them. As I opened up the door I could feel the temperature had gone down several more degrees as they were both layered in thermals to the max.

"What took you so long?" I asked them both.

"Dude, have you tried walking with sudden 50 mile an hour gusts blowing against you?" Tucker responded between his chattering teeth.

"I don't like really sunny days but this stormy cold is even way worse!" Sam complained as she waddled slightly walking in, having so much layering on her legs and body.

"This is the coldest it's every gotten here in Amity!" I said as I looked at the thermometer outside drop down to 36 degrees. I saw Vlad walking toward me looking somewhat pale again. I knew he would need my help.

"Hey, help yourselves to some snacks in the rec room. I need to finish up a few things and I'll be with you too shortly. It's been kind of crazy around here." I said in an exasperated tone.

"Just don't be too long. You know how Tucker is with the snacks." Sam teased.

"Hey, I kind exert some self control!" Tucker protested as they walked toward the rec room. I turned my attention to Vlad as he at one of his super concerned looks on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked him. He really didn't look well at all.

"The holo simulator appears to be offline, but as you no doubt noticed it replayed one of those embarrassing timelines again!" He moaned as Carolyn came up behind him. I was so grateful it shut down before my mom had seen what was happening.

"The diagnostic I ran just now says the computer overheated apparently." Carolyn shook her head as she reviewed the readouts on her phone.

"This creatures' actions only hint at the deep resentment and blame it harbors, it also keeps messing with our systems. At least it has left everything alone at the moment thankfully." Carolyn remarked.

"But why does it keep repeatedly using the computer tech to do its rant?" Danny asked.

"Remember Little Badger that it depends on the computer to fully interact in this universe. Of course it might also be testing the computer equipment to learn more about it, possibly exploit any weaknesses to get a tactical advantage over us. I'm concerned that the more it learns, the more it will likely find a way to hurt us using that technology." Vlad said as he looked on some stats on his phone.

"I'm very afraid for Jack and Maddie. It's only a matter of time before it decides to enact its revenge when it finds a means to do so. There are so many appliances in the house that use computer to function and we don't think twice about it." Carolyn looked at me with an exceptionally concerned look.

"You mean like it could mess with the microwave oven for instance and try to blow it up if one of us is using it?" I suggested hoping that wasn't the case.

"If it learns enough about our technology that is just one of the nightmare scenarios that could happen. We have to make sure to calibrate the ghost shield to the frequency that your dad's monitors picked up. This ghost apparently can fluctuate its power which is messing with readings. In the meantime hopefully we will be enough to hold it off till we have the correctly calibrated ghost equipment to capture the thing." Carolyn added.

"Why not just set the thermos to maximum power setting the creature?" I asked.

It's not that easy. The Fenton Thermos would need a major upgrade to allow it to hold the creature. It fluctuates its power in some odd way that confuses and defeats the Thermos. Although The Fenton Ghost Shield was already designed with a safeguard to fluctuate when the ghost's frequency fluctuated, the older Fenton Thermoses lacks this design." Vlad said rather somberly, then an idea hit me.

"Tucker is a whiz doing upgrades and improvements. Maybe he could help make with the upgrades to the thermos." I suggested.

"I already asked him and his father about helping out with upgrades weeks ago even before this entity came and visited us. Unfortunately his dad insists he work on his own grades before doing any extra projects that take up his time." Vlad replied. I had a feeling all those prior detentions we faced would come back to haunt us and some weren't even our fault!

"Well one positive note, we did learn something new about the creature. It mentioned losing its companion. I think it relates to Vlad in some way. Perhaps you remind it of the companion it lost just as you felt you lost Madeline in the original timeline. Maybe that's why it keeps bringing up your timelines." Carolyn explained as she scratched her forehead.

"I don't even have those feelings for Maddie anymore. Truth be told the moment I saw first you, my feelings for Maddie began to dissolve, I just hadn't admitted it to myself when you first came into my life." Vlad said again acting rather awkward. It was a difficult subject for him to talk about; the way he use to be and yet at the same time never used to be in the paradox of alternate temporal realities.

"At least on the bright note, the creature doesn't know who fired the blast according to what it said." Carolyn added as they both walked toward the kitchen. Then an idea hit me.

I looked over the monitor during the time the ghost visited us again and saw a faint ecto signature of it moving in a specific direction away from our house when it left. I took a snapshot of this to keep on my phone. I knew Tucker had the best topical map plotting software and I needed this to calculate where the creature may have gone. From the general direction it looked like it was heading toward Lake Eerie but I needed to be sure. It would've made sense since it was a sea creature even though Lake Eerie was a far cry from a sea, the look of the lake may have attracted the creature to want to hide there. I ran to the rec room.

"Hey, dude I'm not chowing down on all the snacks." Tucker chuckled extra surprised. He didn't expect me to be in such a hurry but he didn't know all the stuff that was going on.

"There is some really scary stuff happening with this creature. It now is messing at my mom and dad's place. Everyone was asleep and had the same dream of being a fish like creature. We finally snapped out of it and woke up." My nerves were frayed from all the craziness.

"Tell me about it! Our school computers were down for half a day so it was good we were on a field trip even if it wasn't the most exciting." Tucker added.

"I know we all wanted to relax and play some games but I have something that might help us fight this creature or at least learn more about it. I found a direction this creature is heading on the monitor. I was wondering if you could take a look at some of the directional data I have about our spectral guest. I think it's heading toward Lake Eerie but you have the best map plotting software I know." I knew that if it involved anything technical, Tucker was the one for the job.

"I'm on the way. I miss it when it was just me and Sam and you doing the ghost fighting." Tucker said. I had nostalgia for the old days as well even though my grades had immensely improved.

"Yeah, me too. At least maybe we can figure out what this thing is that is terrorizing your family. You're phone sounded a bit scratchy at my end earlier. It's like something is messing with the circuits" Sam commented.

"I'm sorry. All the phones have been acting up off and on thanks to the entity no doubt.'" I knew this creature might be causing a lot of interference with electronic equipment after seeing how it messed with the holo simulator.

"After we finish looking into this and if we have some time for video games, I was also hoping we could play something other than 'Doomed'. I'm kind of tired of that game. There's a better game that's online called 'Angry Trees.' It's where redwoods come alive and attack the lumber company trying to tear them down." Sam explained. Of course she would like that kind of game. Right up her alley with environmental causes.

"Sounds like a plan." I then heard a crackling over the family intercom but then it went away again. The lights flickered for a moment but then everything was OK. Of course I knew this momentary peace wouldn't last when I saw Nathan run up to me and I hoped it wasn't serious. When Nathan runs up unfortunately it usually is.

"Badger, there's something weird going on with mom and dad." Nathan said slightly out of breath.

"What kind of weird?" I asked him. As if Vlad married to a look-a-like of my mom wasn't weird enough.

"Just look at the data and play some games. I am needed again but I'll try to get back and do a round of 'Angry Trees.' Go ahead and dive into the snacks as I don't feel that hungry any more." I confessed. Sam was too shocked at Tucker's reaction to complain to me as he grabbed some potato chips and dropped them on a plate. I ran with Nathan as he headed toward the direction of the guest bedroom where Vlad and Carolyn were.

"As mom and dad went into guest bedroom I noticed they had started to turn ghost." Nathan said. I internally gasped.

"Did anyone else see them?" I asked.

"No, thank God there was no one else in the hall, but why would they do something like that knowing how your mom and dad feel about ghosts?" Nathan asked. I had guessed what happened to them might have not been intentional.

"Sounds like their ghost powers are on the fritz. Text them on the phone and see if they're OK so no one hears you talking to them." I remember when I was first learning my powers I would catch my arm turning invisible and sinking through the couch. It was laughable that my parents thought they could relate to what I was going through in growing up. I told them that I begged to differ.

"I hope they didn't put their phones on silent." Nathan said as he began typing on the phone.

"Don't say anything to Sam and Tucker about this while they're over. Tucker has an especially loud voice and sometimes blurts things out." I cautioned. At the moment all I could think about was what if Vlad and Carolyn were sleep walking and didn't know they transformed. My attention kept veering to the guest room. I didn't want to even think about what would happen if mom and dad saw them in their ghost form.

"I'm good. Go back and relax with Sam and Tucker. I've got this." Nathan said and I nodded. If I was spending too much time away from the rec room I knew uneasy questions would be asked. Now was not the time for that.

I headed back to the rec room Sam and Tucker and just forgetting about everything for a while when I felt a draft of cold air whoosh from under the front door. The breeze felt like what Antarctica might've been like this time of year.

"Man I missed you guys! I was amazed how fast you got here." I said as I shivered for a moment then plopped on a sofa to hopefully relax for the moment.

"Dude, it's seriously getting cold fast. I didn't know I could run so fast! I feel another minute and I would've been a human Popsicle! My dad wants me back by 7:30 tonight or if it snows heavily, which ever comes first." Tucker said as he rubbed his hands which still looked cold even though he had been inside for a while.

"How was staying at Fruitloop's castle?" Sam asked with a smirk.

"It was way weirder than unusual. It looks like is more than one ghost involved in the weird going-ons. Which reminds me, Tucker can you take a look at the readings of these map points and plot a vector?" I asked as I showed the picture of the image coordinates now on my phone. I suspected the ghost was indeed heading for Lake Eerie. Tucker typed in the coordinates and nodded his head.

"Yep! It's definitely heading for good old Lake Eerie which as we all know is the most haunted lake in all of Amity. The good news is Lancer is planning for a field trip to Lake Eerie on Monday." Tucker said.

"I hope we're not doing a week at the creepy campground." I didn't feel like spending a week at that place but I secretly wished I could go ghost and check out the Lake right away to see if the creature was there. I could've if I knew how to duplicate. I was tempted to text Vlad or Carolyn but I knew they were tired if they were unknowingly transforming into ghost form and we needed to conserve our energy for going on the offensive in case the creature came back and tried to attacked us here at the house.

"Well, I'd say we should go check it out except its brutal out there at the moment. Maybe it'll freeze the creature hopefully." Sam said. I then noticed Nathan walking back towards me.

"I text mom and dad but no one's responding." Nathan said careful not to say too much.

"Well, you sent them a text and that's the best you can do at the moment. Just wait." I said reassuringly.

"What's going on?" Tucker had to ask Nathan. Fortunately Nathan could think fast on his feet.

Oh nothing. I just like to test out the phones and make sure they're working since they acted up when we went to Wisconsin." Nathan said. It wasn't the full truth, but Nathan couldn't risk saying more for obvious reasons.

"I sure hope the game is OK. This creature sounds pretty annoying." Tucker added. He truly had no idea the problems this creature could cause. Unfortunately, neither did the rest of us.

"I hope you're right about this Badger." Nathan said giving one of his distressed looks at me. Tucker came to the rescue and reassured him.

"Dude, if there's one thing I've learned since hanging around Danny, is that he's right more often than not." Tucker said in a confident tone of voice. Nathan nodded and sighed to himself. It must've been weird to have parents with secret powers as well. He probably felt like an alien at times. It was weird enough for me to have powers. I wanted to unwind and relax but I still caught myself glancing upstairs worrying about Carolyn and Vlad. Hopefully everything was now fine at the moment...hopefully.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 Technical Difficulties

**Klaatu: This will be a suspenseful chapter. Vlad and Carolyn transformed into their ghost counterparts and aren't sure how it happened. Will they transform in front of Maddie and Jack? Are they sleep walking? And if Danny didn't have enough to worry about he has to deal with the creature setting another trap for him. **

**In this chapter I also will deal with the prejudice that Maddie and Jack have towards ghosts in general. It reminds me a lot of the kind of prejudice that some had in shows I watched like Marvel's X-Men. It goes along a common theme that people fear what they do not understand. This is the biggest threat that looms over the Masters family as well as Danny Phantom. People like Paulina place all ghosts into a bad behavior category because of the problem her dad suffered from a ghost attack. Carolyn and Maddie will get into a heated debate later in this chapter. Meanwhile the creature continues its gremlin like attacks on Amity Park. **

**I don't want to give away too much, but this creature loves to mess with tech whenever it can. There's some more hints hiding in this chapter building to a slow and steady build of suspense. What will the creature do next? Review and enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Checkmate or Endgame.**

Carolyn's POV

I was taking a brief power nap to help me focus about all the crazy stuff going on so far. I knew everyone was bent on trying to stop the ghost or whatever it is attacking us, but I still believe in opening a communication dialog and trying to find the root cause of its anger. I knew it might just be a creature bent on destroying us but it was doing so on misinformation; believing the portal blast killed off its kind. If it could only be convinced that the blast was not what hurt its race. It reminds me of the tasks I face when I try to psychoanalyze spectral beings rather than just go into attack mode. Sometimes I make progress in the case of Technus.

-Flashback-

I recall flying up to Technus as I saw him robbing an electronics store. While it was my first instinct to zap him I tried a different approach than Danny on this one. I was a bit foolish and gutsy but I also was curious why Technus did what he did.

"Hey Technus, what ya doing?" I asked in a friendly voice to confuse him.

"I'm stealing chips in this store that when properly configured will give me control of the World Wide Web. Then I, Technus, shall use my ghost powers and new-found gaming prowess to spread my intellect to every machine in the world!" He bragged. Technus loved to brag based on past observations of this ghost creature. Allowing him to talk also caused him to spill the beans on his quest so I at least knew what he was after. He had a habit of giving away his evil plans telling others way too much information.

"You seem driven by anger and conquest. That need is what is really driving you to mess with technology but it isn't making you happy. Not really is it?" I looked at him and studied his expression. He looked annoyed at me, as if my comment hit a sore spot in his ego.

"Who are you to know what makes Technus happy?!" He retorted defensively. He was playing into my game, but I kept my ghost defenses ready just in case.

"I don't know what makes you happy, but I bet you know what doesn't." I responded him with almost mute emotion. I kept silent and just watched him. He was probably surprised that someone was just talking to him instead of fighting with him. I wouldn't often recommend this approach but I had a theory about Technus that I think was driving him.

"You ask too many questions and look a lot like a ghost I must deal with often with a super annoying ego." Technus spat annoyed further at the silence as he held a crate of various electronic parts.

"You must be referring to my husband, Vlad Plasmius. Yes, he can be quite full of himself at times. But he's been doing better since counseling and anger management." I smirked. I know my hubby didn't like me talking about his therapy too much. He often thought it as an admission of weakness but ultimately realized the benefits of the counseling over time.

"This is a very enlightening conversation, but I do need to be about my work." Technus said as he proceeded to attempt to run off with a bunch of electronic chips or so he thought.

"Stealing chips is such work. You build something and then get caught or discover the parts aren't all functioning as they ought to be. What if I showed you a better way?" I asked him and he looked stunned at me.

The rest of the conversation focused around how he could use his knowledge to improve the functioning of electronics thereby getting acclaim for his accomplishments. He had to agree to put the electronics parts down and try out my suggestions or I wouldn't tell him anything. He actually listened to me and was willing to consider what I said. It turned out that Technus felt he had been under appreciated and his desire to dominate all things technological was his way of proving himself.

I knew this approach wouldn't always work and I wasn't about to be a ghost psychotherapist as I had enough psychotherapy to deal with just to keep my beloved Fruitloop in line. Vladimir was a full-time job. I was at least glad however that I allowed Technus a chance to rethink his ghostly ways and try to better himself. Danny might've scoffed at this, but I felt it was at least worth a try.

-End Flashback-

I turned sleepily to my husband to see he had transformed into his ghost self. I found his look as a ghost very alluring since I had a crush on vampires since I was young. Still I knew this was the Fenton household and I had to say something.

"Honey, I love the sexy gargoyle look but do you think it's wise to transform at the Fenton's house?" I asked. I was puzzled as I knew that Vlad was exceptionally careful when around Jack or Maddie. We needed to keep our secret as I was uncertain how either of them would react learning we were Mr. and Mrs. Wisconsin Ghost.

"I could ask you the same question." Vlad replied with a slight smirk . I looked in the mirror and there I was, transformed into Carolyn Plasmius! I wasn't even aware I had turned.

Well did you changed on purpose? I don't even recall transforming myself." I asked. I needed to know what was going on.

"Oddly, I didn't try to transform, it just happened." Vlad replied with a hint of worry in his voice.

"I hope our ghost powers aren't acting up." Being in the same house as two ghost hunters made this very disconcerting.

"Luckily I brought along the Plasmius Maximus for emergencies like this. I improved it so it can last for up to 8 hours per zap." Vlad pointed over to his suitcase. He was prepared as this happened to us once before when we came down with a weird ghost flu. Still I didn't look forward to being zapped by the thing.

"Will I hurt this time?" I asked with a gulp.

"I've modified it so it can release a more painless controlled charge. The most you'll feel is a slight tingle however it will need to stay applied to the skin for at least 30 seconds. Think of it as a mini back massage." Vlad replied. He always had a way with wording things.

"If we're going human we better have some ghost weapons on us if needed." I cautioned him. We weren't able to use any weapons yet for fear of damaging electrical systems it inhabited. If it however turned those systems on us in a way that threatened our lives we would have no choice to zap the systems. Beyond that, there was little else we could do but we needed to be prepared even if our weapons use was limited.

"Jack has some spare ghost defense systems in the closet. We'll be find. Vlad said with a fanged smile. Man, he looked both scary and sexy with those fangs. What can I say, I grew up with a crush on vampires. Vlad looked as much like a vampire as he did a ghost.

I saw Vlad walk to the suitcase and pull out the Plasmius Maximus. He turned the dial to the 8 hour mark and walked over to me.

"Which of us is going first?" I smirked.

"We can both do it together if we hug each other, however for two at the same time the charge will need to be a full 60 seconds." Vlad explained. I smiled as I walked up close to him and threw my arms around his neck. I saw a naughty glint in his eye as he smiled and placed the device so one prong was touching his right side and the second was touching my left side. He wrapped his free arm around me and began to count down.

"Five...four...three...two...one." I kept looking at him and felt a strange tingle all over my body as he activated the device. I saw green flashes before my eyes and a glowing green aura was surrounding Vlad. At about 40 seconds I noticed both our rings washing over our bodies as we began to transform. His ring use to be black but since taking anger management his ring was now a think gray to white.

"It's good we have these devices to manage our condition, it's even more important we have each other for moral support." I commented as I now looked upon the human version of my husband.

"In the other timeline, I originally had no moral support save maybe my friend from high school Stephanie Hui. Other than that, I was at the mercy of mostly doctors and nurses." Vlad recalled the timeline with horror. The thought of being in a hospital alone except for visitations all those years. But the more I thought about it, the more something began to eat at me.

"Vlad, doesn't it bother you that in that timeline you were forced to spend years in the hospital? Most hospitals transfer patients to hospice or nursing home care after 60 to 90 days on average unless you were transferred to a mental ward at the hospital which I know Mercy does also have." I hated bringing up that past timeline but I had to speak my mind about this.

"I too find that troubling. I could see the accident possibly causing me a nervous breakdown but still spending years at the hospital over acne? I thought I would've been on an outpatient status or something. It would seem careless of a hospital at best." Vlad responded.

"Or a hospital with a hidden agenda at worse." I added and Vlad raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Are you implying my stay in that reality at North Mercy was for other than my own benefit?" He asked as he looked at me intently.

"What if North Mercy had originally kept you cooped up because they suspected you had some kind of special powers?" I suggested. What was more disturbing was Vlad's reaction in that he didn't seem too surprised by my suggestion.

"I have met some investors with military contracts who are also fund grants for the hospital. Dear God, what if in the first timeline they kept me longer because the readings on my chart hinted some unusual power and they kept me there to see if and when I would slip up and reveal myself to them." Vlad looked sickened at the thought.

"They might've been waiting for their next super soldier. It was probable they didn't even do anything that really helped you." When I heard myself I became enraged at the thought.

"I guess we'll never know. That timeline no longer exists." Vlad said somewhat relieved of the fact.

"But maybe there's some secret memo hidden in some safe at the hospital. You remember how upon our discharge the doctor had begged us to change our minds. Think about the properties of our blood. If a doctor spotted even a single bit of ectoplasm in them and they were aware that ghosts needed ectoplasm for power, they may have connected the dots. We're lucky we left when we did." I explained.

"I get the feeling there was more in the other timeline than I was aware of. Maybe in that timeline I foolishly used a power to visit Maddie as a duplicate while I was still in the hospital. If a security camera caught something strange that might indicate I had abilities, then of course they would want to keep me locked up for their own nefarious purposes in the name of 'patient therapy.'" Vlad looked pensively as he contemplated the possibility.

"But according to a clip in that original timeline you yelled at Jack that all those years in the hospital robbed you of those moves, of course you were implying Maddie." I added.

"I would be too proud to admit any move that hadn't created an interest for her to want me. I even made a move on her before the accident when I told her there was something I wanted to tell her." Vlad said as he recalled that million dollar question.

"Out of curiosity, what were you going to tell her?" I asked. Maybe it was awkward for him to talk about but I was curious just the same.

"I wanted to tell her I thought she was special and I wanted to be her steady boyfriend and take her to the best seats of a Packers game. I recall after being discharged from the hospital several days later I asked her this very question, but of course she refused and was a bit offended." Vlad remarked with a slightly amused smirk.

"I'm surprised with your powers you didn't just overshadow her." I asked waiting to see the response he'd give.

"I did try to do just that, but in matters of love the effect didn't last. She was able to snap out of it. I'm surprised you wanted anything to do with me as I'm sure you were aware of my acting flirtatious around her." Vlad felt embarrass, I could see a tinge of red on his cheeks.

"We weren't officially a 'thing' at the time. I was willing to wait though. I couldn't help noticing the way you looked at me though you tried to hide it. First impressions are everything." I smiled.

"And despite my antics, you waited for me and still inevitably became my wife." He smiled back at me. Then there came a knock on the door.

"Dad, are you and mom OK?" Nathan asked through the door.

"We're fine now honey, just a bit off probably from exhaustion." I replied. I guessed he had spotted us transform as we exited the hallway into our room.

"Also, Badger is having problems with the gaming system. I tried to fix it but we need your expertise. If you're too tired though I understand." Nathan said apologetically.

"It's fine we'll be right there." Vlad answered and he looked at me.

It looks like your computer skills are needed." I said with a sigh. Vlad loved feeling needed, however he and I regretted being interrupted at the moment.

"Well I could use a second pair of eyes." He said with a wink. I knew a lot of computer programming and was particularly skillful at debugging lines of code. We both slowly exited the bedroom and headed down to the rec room. I could tell we were both tired but the kids had been through a lot and needed our help.

As we walked toward the rec room I saw some ghost weapons on display. The Proto Fenton Peeler which was the first crude predecessor to the current Fenton Peeler. At first sight it looked like an odd shaped hand-held sewing machine. I saw numerous other gadgets and was reminded of how much Danny loved to tinker. Like father like son.

When we entered the rec room I saw what looked like a game players equivalent of mission control: I saw Nathan looking up game bugs online, Tucker was in a chat room asking gaming questions and Sam was changing batteries to the controllers and air dusting the gaming console. Danny was making angry sounds as he kept working with a controller and the screen looked frozen in the moment.

"What's wrong Little Badger?" Vlad asked. I could tell Danny winced at the term. He hated that nickname almost as much as he hated being called Daniel.

"We tried everything but the game wont work." Danny complained as he kept trying to click on buttons but the screen remained unresponsive. Frozen in time was what looked like Danny's avatar and a blue blob getting ready to attack him.

"Have you tried rebooting the system?" I asked. Danny then shot me an 'Are you kidding?' look.

"I haven't been able to save my score. If I reboot now I lose a critical amount of points and items I accumulated." Danny complained.

Did you check the connection of the the controller to the gaming system?" Vlad asked.

"Badger and I double and triple checked the connections to make sure everything was tight." Nathan answered sounding more frustrated.

"You could go into the game and wake it up from the inside." I suggested.

"Is that even possible?" Danny asked.

"Theoretically it is. When you're overshadowing a person you are basically putting your bioelectrical thoughts or ideas into the persons mind." I explained.

"I thought overshadowing is when you attempt to override and possess the consciousness of the individual?" Danny asked for clarification.

"I prefer to call that extreme overshadowing which I do not approve of doing for moral reasons except in extreme dire cases." I never liked that ghost power and at times found the notion to be most unsettling. Danny looked puzzled at me so I explained myself further.

"The computer brain though less complex than a human brain but electrical signals are still used. Those signals are produced differently in a machine than a biological organism, but those signals can be influenced by your own bioelectrical ghost fields." I tried to keep it simple but at times it didn't sound as non technical as I had wished.

"Well nothing else as worked, you might as well give it a try." Tucker added having looked red eyed from all the online reading he was doing in the chat room.

"I think Carolyn's right about this. Of course if it were me I would sacrifice the points and just do the reboot." Sam said. She wasn't as obsessed with getting the highest score in the games as were the boys.

"Sam, you can't be serious. I've fought too hard to get this far. I think I should just give this a try." Danny said with a determined look on his face as he set the controller down and put on the Fenton Computer helmet to more easily connect to the game. He then began to close his eyes and concentrate. I watched intently as I saw a pixeled image of Danny on the video game screen. He was looking around and looked at the avatar and the blob. He walked up next to his avatar and as he stood next to it, it began to flicker and move for a few seconds.

"I'm going to see if I can access the Save menu." He said as he reached down to the bottom of the screen and tried to press the button to access the save dialog. At first his hand just went through it and the button looked momentarily distorted.

"Try using your ghost cooling powers on the console." Vlad suggested as Danny physically walked up to the console and carefully placed his hands over where the power chord was attached to the system. That end of the console where the main power was coming from was also the warmest. He slowly began to release gentle green orbs of cold on the system. The game began to move but the Save dialog didn't come up.

"Well, I'm going to physically sit myself down and fully focus my thought inside the game to see if I can get it partially running. Maybe I'll just play the game from inside this system." Danny suggested.

"It is probably safer to jump out of the game and try the controllers instead." Vlad added as he watched the game slowly coming to life. Danny began to meld and change the look of his avatar as his ghost body walked into the image and merged with it. As he had done that the game looked like it began to run up to normal speed. The blob was chasing him but then it appeared to look like it had him cornered.

"Dude get out of there!" Tucker said. It was just a game but Danny's mind was inside of it and he became concerned as the blob kept trying to corner Danny.

In desperation Danny in his new avatar form shot green rays at the creature but it didn't affect it whatsoever. He then ran to the front of the video screen but instead of jumping out his face smashed against the screen. He ran to the left and jumped over the blob as it ran toward him and then went down a side alley in the game.

"I can't believe it, I think I'm trapped in here!" Danny said in horror as the blob continued to chase him throughout the landscape of the game. First he ran down the main street of the city in the game and then finally ended up on a pier.

"Danny, can you fly in the game?!" Sam yelled.

"I'm trying to but my powers in this game are limited!" Danny yelled as the monster closed in on him.

"We're going to have to shut this thing down!" I said in desperation as I watched Danny running from the blob which was quickly gaining speed.

"No wait! I have an idea! Tucker, can you connect your PDA to the console and override the game to pause it?" Danny said as he jumped from the pier onto the lower stairway of a nearby building next the pier in the game. Tucker tried to plug in his PDA and typed some command lines in it. The game began to slow but then an error message appeared on the game which said "GLITCH RESOLVED, GAME WILL NOW RESUME." Then, amazingly an avatar that resembled Tucker appeared on the game screen.

"Dude, I'm in. I'll see what I can do!" Tucker said in a fit of determination.

I looked at Danny's physical body and it looked like he had sat down in the chair and passed out. His full waking consciousness must now be in the game! This was not a smart move as Vlad and I exchanged glances at each other. Then Danny began to act strangely out of character. He seemed to act more afraid as he ran into a warehouse as the blob was distracted with Tuckers avatar.

"Guys, I'm really scared." Danny said in a trembling voice through the video screen. It was as if the game was creating an unusual fear in Danny that didn't exist before. That was bad as fear tend to mess with ghost powers.

"Daniel, I need you to listen to me!" Vlad said in a commanding but calm tone. His deep voice had a power to sooth as he worked to calm Danny down so his ghost powers would still be accessible.

"Can you hear me son?" Vlad said.

"Y-yes..Vlad..." Came Danny's reply as his voice trailed off.

"I need you to relax and take some deep breaths. Hold your arms out straight in front of you, slowly exhale and then gradually lower your arms as you inhale and exhale." Vlad instructed to Danny. This was a relaxation technique Vlad had taught him when he practiced in the training room. Vlad had learned this from his cousin Demetri who used to be in the marines. As Danny relaxed the blob began banging against the warehouse door in the game but the door remained secure. Danny stayed calm as Vlad continued talking to him.

"How do you feel Little Badger?" Vlad asked calmly.

"I feel more in control now. I don't know why I suddenly felt so panicked." Danny commented, a bit puzzled.

"Maybe the ghost is trying to affect your moods." Nathan guessed.

"You don't suppose it might be the creature that's been bugging us?" I asked. I thought Maddie made sure to turn up the ghost shield.

"Nathan, can you go to the front room and see if the ghost shield is up?" Vlad asked and Nathan immediately ran out the rec room. He ran back to the rec room gasping for breath.

"The shield is turned off. I don't know who or how but it's off! Danny, where's the key to the control room?" Nathan said and we all looked at each other in shock.

"Who would've turned the shield off?" Sam asked looking puzzled.

"I'm not sure but we can't turn it back on now else we'll trap the ghost inside with us." Nathan said somberly.

"Well when you can do so, the key is under the mat in front of the control room door!" Danny hollered as he was almost out of breath jumping and avoiding the blob.

"Snicker doodles! OK, Daniel listen to me. We think that blob might be the ghost creature in the computer. You need to try to imagine seeing yourself leaving the game." Vlad said to Danny. I knew it went against Danny's instinct to run from the game rather than to fight, but he listened and then slowly, his avatar began to fade until it disappeared and then he woke up and sat up in the chair. Vlad immediately tried to place a shield around the game console but a spark shot out through Vlad's shield and out of the game shooting through the wall to the rec room.

"Baby, can you detect any ghost?" Vlad asked. I looked on my phone and scanned making sure to it was set to filter out present company.

"I don't detect anything. It must've left! Nathan, turn the ghost shield back on!" I ordered and Nathan ran out of the room towards the upstairs control room. I soon heard a comforting swoosh sound of the ghost shield turning on. I ran up and looked at the monitor myself and saw the shield indeed was on and staying at a steady strength.

"Wow, I was more panicked than usual at first." Danny said.

"Man! That ghost messed with you and ruined our game! Now this is personal!" Tucker spat angrily.

"At least Danny is OK. This creature if that's what attacked the game must've set a trap by messing the game up. It probably sensed Danny would've tried putting himself in the game to fix it." Sam said.

"I'm sorry I suggested you try to overpower the game with your powers Danny." I felt awful. I should've guessed the creature would try to make Danny want to put himself in the game to fix it.

"It's OK Aunt Carolyn, I would've probably done it eventually myself. But man that was too close!" Danny said looking visibly exhausted.

"What I'd like to know is who or what shut the ghost shield down." Sam asked looking rather miffed.

"Well, the ghost shield control has a camera directly in front of it. We can rewind it and find out who did it." Tucker suggested. He knew as much if not more than the Fentons about the workings of the Ghost Control room. Tucker prided himself of learning about any tech as much as he could.

We all marched up to the control and Danny pressed the rewind button of the console. When we saw the footage all of us were shocked at what we saw...which was absolutely nothing.

"Didn't Maddie say she had turned on the shield?" I asked. Danny nodded. Just then I heard Jazz walk into the living room from her study.

"What's the matter?" She asked.

"Apparently your mother thought she had turned on the ghost shield but apparently had only imagined she had done so I am guessing." Vlad said. We all knew the creature could make us fall asleep without being aware. It was likely it had caused Maddie to fall asleep and dream she had turned on the ghost shield when in reality it never came on.

"This is truly disturbing. Our only defense is to keep the shield on 24 -7. Mom isn't going to be happy with that. We were needed to do some repair on the systems." Jazz said. She knew the ghost shield had wear and tear on it as a result of the extreme temperatures of the Polar Vortex followed by wildly swinging warmer temps. Maintenance needed to be done on the system but that wouldn't be possible while the shield was running.

"What if the shield isn't enough? Vlad, do you know if your shield was around the gaming system when the ghost shot out of the console?" I whispered so Maddie and Jack wouldn't hear.

"I had a complete shield around the game but the thing managed to zap out of the console despite my efforts." Vlad replied. He and I looked at each other. I knew that shield Vlad created from his ghost powers was similar to the Fenton Ghost Shield. I wondered to myself how the ghost could've penetrated through it and escaped.

"So you're saying that the shield might not be enough to keep this ghost from getting back in?" Jazz said.

"I haven't seen any ghost that was resistant to a shield. My guess is this is the entity that is bugging us. It being slightly out of sync with our reality probably also makes it impervious to normal ghost shields." Danny said looking deeply distressed.

"Being out of sync means it must be on a slightly different spectral frequency to defeat the power of the shield." Tucker took the words right out of our mouths. He was truly brilliant when it came to tech stuff.

"Daniel, is there a way that Jack can connect a sensor to the shield that can pick up the frequency of the creature and adjust to match the frequency of the ghost?" Vlad asked.

"If Nathan and I work with dad, we could have it ready by this evening." Danny replied. He knew time was of the essence.

"Go ahead and talk to Jack or Maddie, whichever of them is available. We need to make sure this can be done."

"What if the creature breaks through and puts one or all of us asleep again?" Jazz asked. That was a genuine concern.

"I guess it's too easy to become use to the alarms on the phone, so I guess the next best thing is for us who are half-ghosts, we need to create our own variation of a fluctuating ghost shield." Vlad answered.

"How does that even work?" Sam asked.

"We attach a ghost detector to ourselves and sync it to our own ghost shields. It's really difficult to explain, but it is something we can instinctively do." Vlad explained and Sam looked stunned and rather sorry she had asked.

"Badger and I ran a simulation testing this out once in involving changing our spectral frequency. Although we never encountered such a being in the past that could do this as well, we watched a sci fi show where they had to alternate a shield frequency to keep out some zombie ghosts. We decided to test out a way we could do this just in case. It was just for fun...I never imagined we would actually have to be doing this." Nathan said smirking at Danny.

"Zombie ghosts? I don't think I have ever heard anything like that." Sam said in disbelief.

"Stay up till 2 am on Scare Night Fridays on the TV and you'd be surprised the stuff they come up with." Tucker said.

"I'm still curious as to why this creature, if that is who attacked the game, keeps messing with us. Just us." Jazz said.

"Vlad has a theory, we think the creature was empathic to Vlad's former suffering in the previous timeline." I explained.

"You mean the one where Vlad spent years instead of a few days in the hospital?" Jazz asked.

"Yes. As you recall it had a companion that it claims it lost when it escaped that extinction level event." I explained.

"But Vlad doesn't look anything like a fish. I mean, how can it relate to him so?" Sam asked an obvious question.

"Maybe it was the way Vlad suffered. Maybe the creatures companion's burns from the gamma ray were similar in look to the ecto-acne Vlad had on its face. When I first saw my face and Vlad's, these blotches looked like blisters one gets from second degree burns rather than normal acne." I explained.

"That's still a lot of maybes." Jazz responded.

"We don't know much more than you. We only know that it is upset and thinks the proto portal killed its kind." I added somberly.

"I'd rather we be able to catch the thing and be rid of it." Sam said. She looked wearied just thinking about what this creature was capable of.

"Well, between everyone we should have some working upgraded Fenton Thermoses to catch the creature. They probably will be ready tonight." Nathan hoped. Just then Jack wandered into the rec room. Maddie walked up behind him.

"Hey did anyone just have to deal with a ghost just now?" Jack asked sounded rather exasperated.

"One just attacked the video game console and finally left." Danny replied. Jacks' eyes widened as Maddie shook her head.

"This ghost seems to favor messing with electronics much like Technus." Maddie commented with a worn look on her face.

"What did it do to you?" I was almost afraid to ask.

"That spook began to mess with our game show we were watching. One minute we see the game show host, the next minute the channel changed on its own to 'World's Under the Sea', except instead of the usual voice of the narrator we get this creepy sounding voice." Jack complained as he rubbed sweat off his forehead.

"The voice went on to say 'These are the survivors of the holocaust against the my kind." Then some creepier image materializes on the screen that looks like some weird mutant fish." Maddie complained looking weary of the attacks and appearing drained from the latest ordeal.

"I even tried shooting the TV with a special goo that's harmless to electronics. It didn't even phase the ghost!" Jack said as he looked downcast with disappointment.

"My son thinks we'll have to have alternating frequencies both for shield and capture of the creature based on the readings on the spectral monitors." I said to bring them up to speed.

"Well we best get started. Any creature we can't contain is a threat and needs to be dealt with." Maddie said. Tucker's phone rang and we all jumped. I guess the creature has made us extra jumpy since its shenanigans.

"Man, can't I stay for a half hour longer?" Tucker answered and I could hear his dad sounding stern at the other end and letting him know he was coming by to pick him up. Normally I assume Mr. Foley would allow Tucker to walk home but the snow was coming down heavier and not letting up. Not long after Tucker's dad called, Sam received a call and was given the word to head home. Both kids looked frustrated.

"Well it looks like I need to head home. My parents aren't even waiting for me to walk. They're coming in the car and I just live down the street! I didn't even get to try out the Tree Attack Prequel game!" Sam complained.

"Same here. Why do parents have to be such worry warts?" Tucker asked as he began loading up his tech gear.

"I know you two aren't happy but these storms can be deadly. At least you'll get to spend the day Monday at Lake Eerie." I tried offer them some comforting words. They hardly got to spend any time with Daniel but I could hear the wind outside and knew their parents were definitely concerned. I decided to cheer them up the only way I knew how.

"You can try playing with each other online. At least then you can still spend some time together." I suggested. He cast me a slightly hopeful look as we walked out of the rec room back to the main living room area.

"Yeah, it's not quite as good but I guess it will have to do!" Later." Tucker said as he walked to wait for his dad by the front door.

"Well I'll save it for later. I have to catch up on some homework." Sam said. I could tell she really wasn't thrilled with having to leave early and less thrilled with going online to visit Danny.

As their parents came slowly down the road I began to focus to see if I could pick anything up that felt like a ghost nearby. None of us were yet able to get a fix on the creature but if I could pinpoint any sounds the creature made, that at least would be better than nothing. As Tucker's dad came to the door he opened it up with a struggle as a gust of cold wind blew in and papers flew everywhere. Nathan and Danny went downstairs no doubt tinkering on improving the Fenton Thermoses. I looked at Vlad.

"You sure Vortex isn't lose again?" I said half jokingly.

"I man makes one mistake as a mayor and it seems he can never live it down!" He complained. I laughed to myself thinking how that comment would make an excellent bumper sticker if he decided to run again for the office.

After the kids left I saw Maddie wiping the excess goo off of the television. She had a very concerned look on her face. This creature was wearing all of us out trying to find ways to combat it.

"Our luck we have a ghost with alternating frequencies!" She complained.

"That's probably why the goo didn't work." Jack lamented. I could tell he really hated feeling helpless against that creature.

"If we are going to win against this thing we're going to have to out-think it at its own game." Vlad said as he looked at the television intently.

"It would be easier if we knew more about it and why it's after us." Maddie complained.

"Well like Carolyn said, it seems to think the proto portal killed off its kind." Jazz stated looking at Maddie with deep dread. Maddie looked annoyed at the comment. I felt I needed to remind her why this suspected creature felt the way it did.

"As I explained to you before, based on our research the creature seems to have originated from a prehistoric time period where most of its species was killed off by a gamma ray burst. It seems convinced that the proto portal somehow caused the gamma ray burst that killed off most of its kind." I tried to keep the reminder explanation as simple as possible.

"I recall you mentioning about this creature earlier but I forgot you're mentioning your concerns of the proto portal? The portal that zapped Vlad in the face and you somehow appeared?" Maddie asked. I vaguely recall explaining that part to her but she probably didn't want to remember it. She felt enough guilt that Vlad got blasted at all by that thing. I also knew she had seen me on that fateful day but never asked how I got there nor did I feel like volunteering other than the vague explanation I had given her before.

"Yes, the day I happened to wander to the lab where your experiment took place. When we looked at the image closer we noticed a faint image of the creature that's been bothering us." I explained hoping to refocus the concern onto the creature rather than precisely where I came from.

"I'm still curious how you seemed to show up. I didn't recall anyone opening the lab door prior to the blast" Maddie had to comment on her concerns.

"The blast blew out some windows as well as blasting the lab door open. But I'm glad I survived and am here now." I replied. I hated lying to Maddie. I suspected she knew I wasn't being fully truthful, but what would she think if she knew I was from a parallel reality let alone having ghost powers? I needed everyone to keep focus on finding out about this creature and how to fight it.

"I still don't see why it thinks that proto portal ray is the gamma burst." Jack said looking puzzled.

"Carolyn and I ran a simulation and guess what, your portal ray looks a lot like the supernova flash that zapped the creature's inhabitants." Vlad said looking at Jack with a sobering expression of warning.

"Great! So this creature thinks we destroyed its kind. It probably wants to kill us!" Maddie lamented.

"Well, it doesn't know who actually pulled the lever when the ray went off. Hopefully it wont find out before we manage to contain it." I said.

"Why do my inventions always have to cause so many problems. It was bad enough when I zapped Vlad's face." Jack shook his head. He had never gotten over the horror of that day.

Jack...it's not like I was in the hospital for years...this time around." Vlad said with a look of genuine concern.

"That was another thing that puzzled me. I overheard the doctors say they expected you to be in there for months." Maddie said putting her hand to her hips as if challenging Vlad that there was more than he was letting on. She had no idea!

"I come from a resilient family. We're able to overcome illnesses quite well so I guess the ecto-acne wasn't as bad as the doctors had previously believed." Vlad said and shot a glance at me. Of course we weren't going to mention the dermal pen that was ahead of its time and from another reality.

"Well, anyway focusing back on this strange ghost, I'm wondering if the creature might be connected to the Wisconsin Ghost in some way." Maddie said and I saw Danny peek out from a side room. I gulped and felt like throwing up.

"Why do you say that?" I asked trying not to look stressed.

"Well, based on what you've said this creature came into our world through that portal accident. Also not long after that accident we start getting appearances by the Wisconsin ghost. The ghost even acts like it knows Jack and I, which is even stranger. Why once it even had the nerve to come up to me and advise that if felt Jack wasn't good enough for me and that if someone else asks me out I shouldn't turn down the opportunity. Not long after...well Vlad you kept asking me out trying the most ridiculous methods to charm me." Maddie looked at Vlad with an annoyed yet amused look. I stared at Vlad with a questioning look. I knew he made moves on Maddie but I had no idea he did spectral visits to her as the Wisconsin Ghost. Vlad looked very uncomfortable as he began to visibly sweat while I tried to fight off a smirk.

"Now Maddie, that's in the past. I hope you can forgive me but I did have...well I use to kind of have a crush..on you." Vlad trailed off looking at me with a guilty expression.

"That ghost also had the same voice as you only with more of a haunting echo." Maddie stated. I was worried she might put the pieces of the puzzle together so I interjected.

"Well that's all in the past now and we can just laugh about it." I commented shooting an nervous smile at Maddie as I placed my arm protectively around Vlad's and hugged him close.

"Then I realized the love of my life." He added as he smiled at me. I gave him a look of appreciation but wasn't letting him off the hook so easily. Maddie looked at me hard for a moment and smirked.

"I guess you got another version of Maddie. We are look-a-likes after all." Maddie commented with a hint of a chuckle. It was so uncanny. I knew that we even shared the same fingerprints. I can't imagine what she would do if she knew I was her from another reality. Even my middle name was Madeline!

The silence in the room was deafening. Maddie looked stunned as I suspected it suddenly dawned on her that in a way Vlad never fully got over his crush, he simply found it in another individual. Jack looked clueless as always and Vlad looked like he was on the spotlight and felt a little uneasy. I decided to make an invisible duplicate of myself and walked down to check on Danny working with Nathan the Fenton Thermoses in the spare mini lab room down the hall. I was surprised to see them with their phones upright on special stands while they tinkered with the thermoses. I knew they could both sense my presence but I didn't wish to interrupt them. I was curious as to how the boys were doing on the modifications hoping they had made some progress.

"I think I should focus on getting the ghost captured before playing another round of "Doomed." But you can watch us and give us any advice on what we're doing." Danny said to Tucker who was on the phone screen doing a type of video chat.

"I guess your right. Why bother gaming if the creature is going to mess it up anyway. But I still can't believe we're going to Lake Eerie of all places!" Tucker said sounding astonished.

"Why do you say that?" Danny asked as Nathan shot him an amused look.

"Well don't you find it odd that our field trip is the same spot we think the ghost went?" Tucker questioned.

"Tuck's got a point Badger." Nathan said as he unscrewed a thermos and began sorting through different circuit components on the table.

"Are you implying that the creature might have put Lake Eerie into the school's computer for upcoming field trips?" Danny asked. I wouldn't have been surprised if it had.

"It does seem like it. But at the very least we should be on our toes. None of us have ever had to deal with a ghost as weird as this! This thing likes to mess with electronics. One of my main loves!" Tucker added.

"Well at least that's pretty much all it can do at the moment. I hope it doesn't find a new way to defeat our upgrades to the ghost shield and cause us to fall asleep again." Nathan said.

"I think it's probably going to mostly mess with technical stuff. Its limited in that it can't actually touch things in our world other than input electrical signals to computer gadgets...I'm guessing." Danny added while he clipped some wires together and reassembled a thermos.

"Well I thought I would never say this, but fortunately there isn't a lot of anything high tech at Lake Eerie. Even the phones there are rotary dial!" Tucker said with a note of shock.

"Hey Badger, do you think Lancer will let us do some fishing there?" Nathan asked jokingly. I certainly hoped he was joking anyway.

"Yuck Nathan! Why would you even want to catch any fish there. Have you seen Lake Eerie up close let alone smell it? I know you grew up in Wisconsin for a while but this is Amity's Lake Eerie. It's filled with algae sludge of nasty stuff I don't even want to know and it's a favorite hangout for swamp ghosts." Tucker said. I remember looking at that lake a couple of times...from a safe distance.

"Don't worry Tuck, Badger and I would just do catch and release." Nathan said with a smirk. I saw Danny roll his eyes up. My stomach felt like it was rolling as well just at the thought of handling fish out of that nasty lake.

I saw Jazz come in and she looked visibly annoyed.

"Danny, I know you and Nathan are doing important work but I need to study for a final and need you to keep your voice down just a bit." Jazz said. Danny looked at Tucker as we both knew it was actually Tucker who was being loud more than anyone else. He often got louder when he got excited and Danny turned down the phone. Before he could respond Jazz's eyes got wide. 

"Wait, is that a Fenton Thermos?" She asked. Danny was afraid she would want to help. She was very intelligent but at times inherited her father's clumsiness and Danny knew what a mess she was when she tried to help during ghost hunting. Danny was the only one who got caught while the other ghosts escaped!

"It's OK Jazz, I'm sorry I was so loud." Danny shot a glance at Nathan and they both quickly put the thermoses into cabinets for safe keeping. They both knew not to even do any tech work with Jazz around or she would want to help.

"That's OK. You sure you don't need any help with the thermoses?" Jazz offered.

"N-no. We're pretty much done for tonight, but thanks and I hope you do good on your test." Danny said nervously.

"OK Danny, but don't be afraid to call me if you need anything." Jazz said as she walked back out.

"Man that was close!" Danny breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think we'll get up early in the morning and run some tests." Nathan said. Danny had a look of shock on his face.

"But it's Saturday and I like to sleep in." Danny protested. Nathan didn't need to sleep in as much as Danny and was puzzled why Danny like to rest more. Maybe Nathan growing up with ghost powers gave him more energy. Danny just barely had his powers for a year now and so he was naturally more exhausted, but I know the training helped him manage and learn his powers much faster than if he had tried to learn on his own.

"Well, don't let me wake Sleeping Beauty. I'll just test the thermoses and let you know if they worked." Nathan said with a smirk.

"Don't you dare! I am so getting up on Saturday and we are going to test those thermoses together." Danny laid down the law.

"Or we could work some more on them now that Jazz has left the room." Nathan suggested. Danny looked around and nodded.

"Sounds like a plan." He said. At that moment my thoughts were distracted as I heard Maddie talking more about the Wisconsin Ghost so I left the work room and merged myself back together fully focusing on the conversation in the living room. Maddie was listing numerous reasons she believed that ghosts were evil. I decided to interject.

"If we befriended a ghost then it would work for us. Doesn't that sound like an intriguing possibility?" I asked with a smirk. I knew that wouldn't sit well with Maddie but I decided to give the conversation a whirl.

"Carolyn, you can't seriously think of employing a ghost!" Maddie said with disbelief. I laughed to myself at her reaction. Typical to be afraid of what she doesn't understand but I needed to learn the source of her mistrust.

"Just because someone may appear to be a ghost does not automatically make them evil. The Dairy King haunts the halls of my husband's castle in Wisconsin and he never has done anything to hurt us. In fact we heard a disembodied voice that said 'Recheck the cheese in the refrigerator' some months back. When we examined the cheese we found a bad batch. That doesn't seem like evil behavior to me." I defended. If only she knew I was a half-ghost as well.

"Well I was terrorized as a youngster by an apparition. It was one of the pivotal reasons I took up a career of paranormal research and ghost hunting." Maddie replied sharply.

"They can't be trusted." Jack added. I was about to respond when he went on a rant.

"The Wisconsin Ghost messed with my equipment one year. It was like a gremlin pranking us. My Fenton Ghost Catcher had actual fishing lures attached to the ends and all the Fenton Thermoses were filled with tomato soup." Jack retorted. I had to stifle a laugh. I knew Vlad and Jack got into a fight that year. Each accused the other of stealing each others' technology until it was later discovered a ghost was behind the shenanigans. But in the meantime my spectral hubby decided to teach Jack a lesson and did some mild pranks. The tomato soup was a classic one.

"It's for this reason I don't trust ghosts, especially the Wisconsin Ghost. As I told you before he kept trying to break Jack and me up and told me I should date Vlad Masters. This Ghost seemed to have a thing to side for Vlad and a lot of times he even sounded like Vlad. In fact as I think of it he looked a lot like Vlad in a lot of ways as much as he looked different. They even had the same first name." Maddie once again started connecting the dots but falling short from making a conclusion probably because she couldn't fathom the idea that a human could have ghost like powers or transform and look different. I decided to do a little fessing up to an extent without giving my husband and myself away.

"Well I'll have you know I interviewed the Wisconsin Ghost." I said proudly. I left the part out about us dating, getting married and so on.

"You interviewed that menace?!" Maddie looked stunned.

"I learned that ghost isn't the full on super villain you make him out to be. He's just a misunderstood creature who wants love and acted inappropriately at times because of his loneliness. " Vlad gave me a look to cool it. I smirked to myself.

"Tell me you're joking!" Maddie stated with a muted chuckle of disbelief. I remained steadfast in my explanation as I continued.

"When I first met the being, I didn't know anything about him." I explained which was true. In fact when I first ran into Vlad Plasmius I didn't know it was actually Vlad Masters in a transformation. Vlad was afraid I would freak out if I knew he could turn into this creature. We had powers but neither of us transformed right away. Vlad was first as he was hit with the majority of the plasma discharge from the portal.

"Weren't you afraid he would try to hurt you?" Maddie asked in confusion as she gazed at me.

"I felt what I had to learn from the being was worth the risk. I asked him why he haunted the Wisconsin Castle, he said he felt abandoned after his best friend left him in the hospital and never tried to contact him. He became angry and troubled the area to make his frustrations known." It was true that Jack never contacted him although he only spent 3 days in the hospital till he came out and returned to college. Vlad was all the drama and chose to pick on Jack without my knowledge while we were dating. Most of his haunting involved messing with Jack's reputation as a ghost hunter. Jack would come along and Vlad would fool Jack into thinking his ghost hunting scared him off. Then after a couple of days Vlad started up again haunting various places across Amity and Wisconsin.

"Were you secretly armed with any ghost fighting equipment?" Jack asked out of curiosity.

"No, I liked to live dangerously and for some reason I just didn't feel that Wisconsin Ghost wanted to hurt me. It was like I could sense his feelings." This was true when I didn't even know I was confronting my fiancée in ghost form. Before I knew Vlad Plasmius was Vlad Masters, I only felt attraction to him...never any real fear.

-Flashback-

I did find it laughable that I didn't even suspect Vlad was the Wisconsin Ghost till I secretly followed him one day. Vlad did one of his ghostly visits to the Packer's manager at his home and threatened to haunt him till the manager agreed to meet with the city of Green Bay to make the Packers available for public sale. The city of Greenbay refused so that became Vlad's next favorite haunt. I later saw Vlad transform and then...I transformed as well. That was a game changer and it was my turn to mess with him.

After transforming into Miss Wisconsin Ghost I flew over too him from behind his back and he turned around and I startled him. It was funny to see such a shocked expression on his gargoyle-like face.

"Boo ya!" I said with a fanged smile. His ruby red eyes lit up brighter like Christmas tree lights as his eyebrows raised looking at me.

"Who is this vision of loveliness I'm looking at?" Vlad asked. He was such a charmer but I got a tad bit jealous at the time. After all, Vlad and I were dating and he didn't know that other ghost was actually me having transformed although I suspect he probably figured it out.

"I think I'm looking at a dashing sometimes troublesome ghost who seems to have a thing for the Greenbay Packers. What a coincidence that my fiancée also as tried to buy the Packers. He's a bit obsessive compulsive. Maybe you could give me some dating advice?" I asked teasingly. I knew at that moment Vlad was sure that was me but he pretended not to know.

"I haunt and don't generally give dating advice but it sounds like she needs to be more understanding of her fiancée. I suppose he might be a bit too obsessive and should just realize he doesn't need to be owner of the Packers to make her happy." Vlad replied in a mildly defeated tone. I smiled and transformed back into my human self.

"Well said buttercup." I smirked and Vlad transformed back into his human self.

"So my queen defeats her king. I suspected you might look similar to me. When were you sure you figured out who I was?" Vlad asked with a grin.

"Please, you don't look that different from the Wisconsin Ghost. You sound the same and how many people have a first name of Vlad and are obsessed with the Packers?" I asked with a laugh.

-End Flashback-

My thoughts stirred back to the argument I was having with Maddie. I honestly believed I might never change her opinion about ghosts. I tried to reason with her but it seemed I was making little headway.

"I still think all ghosts are evil." Maddie said defiantly.

"Well, I'm not saying all ghosts are friendly either but I think it's a bit racist to automatically assume because a being is a ghost that it has evil intent. I'm glad I got to talk to the Wisconsin Ghost. He enjoyed talking with me and telling me what was on his mind." I defended.

"So now you're going to become a ghost psychiatrist?" Maddie asked sarcastically. I was fed up with her attitude and decided to finish the conversation.

"I just think that it is the way someone acts, not who they are that determines whether they are good or bad. I suppose we will never agree on this, but I wish you would consider my argument." I said nearly pleadingly. I heard Nathan and Danny run up to meet us.

"Mom, we've modified the Fenton Thermoses so they can be tested." Danny said almost out of breath from running. He wished he could've floated to his mom but they were very biased ghost hunters. After talking to Maddie I'm not so sure she would even let her son off the hook for being half-ghost even though it was caused by their carelessness in leaving the big portal unattended.

"Looks like the only test those thermoses will get is when we see that spook again. I hate having to wait for it" Jack commented.

"Maybe we don't have to, if we set a trap for it that makes it want to come to us instead." Nathan said. He, like Danny was brilliant in his own way with strategies. He even beat his dad a few times at chess and Vlad was a prize winning chess master.

"If we have an idea where the creature may go to next, that would be a big help." Vlad added.

"Tucker traced the current direction of the creature to Lake Eerie. Since it seems to resemble a water type creature then that would make sense if it decided to go there. Lake Eerie is popular for water based ghost creatures." Danny explained.

"It's convenient that we're going there Monday for a field trip. If ghost catching equipment is set up ahead of time then we'd be ready for it." Nathan suggested. I saw a look on Maddie's face and sensed an objection coming.

"Don't you think Mr. Lancer would be less than thrilled that the Fentons or Masters were setting up a ghost trap at a school event? I think the last thing Lancer wants is to invite a ghost attack." Maddie cautioned.

"If it's in the lake there'll probably be an attack anyway. Either way we're sitting ducks mom. I think it's time to go on the offensive with this thing." Danny replied with a hopeful look that he could persuade Maddie to see his point of view.

"Badger's right. Lancer has no guarantee the creature wont decide to just strike whether traps are there or not." Nathan defended. Both boys made a very good argument.

"The adults will discuss this at greater length. Monday is still a couple days away. You too make sure you're caught up on your school work and leave the ghost fighting to us." Maddie replied cautiously. Of course she didn't know how many ghosts the two boys had caught on their own but they both looked at each other and decided to go back to the rec room and just hope for the best. It was up to Vlad and myself to convince them now.

"I think because the ghost might be there this would be a rare opportunity to catch it before it attacks since we already know where it is at. If I bring the proto portal and some green low watt laser lights that create the illusion of the portal rays, it might come out of the Lake and try to attack the portal. Then we could have the thermoses ready to capture the creature." I advised. I had hoped I would have more success with Maddie and Jack about setting up this ghost trap than I had discussing why all ghosts aren't necessarily evil.

"Carolyn's right. And she and I could supervise the capture at the lake while you and Jack can monitor the ghost shield should the creature decide to return here." Vlad added. The fact that Vlad and I also had ghost powers gave us a definite advantage over the Fentons but unfortunately we couldn't divulge this secret to them.

"I guess the traps are a good idea." Maddie replied. She didn't seem completely convinced in her vocal tone though

"But I was hoping I could go to Lake Eerie as well." Jack protested. He sounded like a kid who couldn't go to the carnival. Maddie rolled her eyes up. She knew Mr. Lancer was not very happy with Jack after Jack zapped and his ghost blaster tore off half of Lancer's suit at school when he had mistaken Lancer for a ghost.

"I think it's more important that you remain here to hold down the fort. After all, we need Amity's most brilliant and capable ghost fighters at home base in case you need to expand the shield should the creature decide to broaden its attacks." I said hoping to appeal to Jacks ego. Vlad gave me a look of disbelief. As clever as Jack was Vlad didn't think of Jack as being that brilliant since Jack was a bit clumsy. But one time Vlad bumbled and forgot to change the Ecto Filter causing the destruction of the castle. I was able to shield the kitchen when I heard the alarm and Nathan was at school when the rest of the castle was demolished. So Vlad had his less than brilliant moments as well.

The snow began to pile up outside and one could feel the damp coldness in the air. The kids all huddled by the heater in the living room with hot cocoa. Vlad and I huddled up by a heater in the spare bedroom and gave each other light zaps to keep each other warm. Ghost powers during a cold weather event came in extra handy. As I laid next to Vlad I already heard him starting to snore. It was a reminder to how exhausted I was as I started to doze to sleep. Images of the school had flashed through my mind and I had trained myself to be aware when I was dreaming after the recent attack by the creature.

In the dream I saw the school and was reliving the creature's invasion of the school intercoms when Vlad and I had arrived to stop the attack, only when I floated over to the main school office there was silence, as if the creature already left the school. I saw Vlad float up to me and then Mr. Lancer burst through the office doors and looked at us angrily.

"You!" He said as he pointed a finger at us accusingly. Just then he pulled out a Fenton Thermos and began to chase us. We hadn't done anything and he was after us! Although I knew subconsciously it was still a dream it was very upsetting.

"Why are you chasing us?!" I yelled as we tried to flee from him.

"You're ghosts! You're evil and that's all you ghosts know how to do. To be evil and scare the rest of us!" Lancer yelled as he kept trying to aim the thermos dangerously close to us to catch us.

"Come on Baby!" I hollered as I grabbed Vlad's gloved hand and we shot up intangibly through the ceiling and hid in the crawlspace below the school roof. I could hear the helicopters in the distance coming toward the school. I knew we could stay intangible for a little while but it would drain our ghost powers. We had to find a hiding place to keep away from Lancer and the GIW. Then it dawned on me.

"Let's teleport back to the mansion!" I said and Vlad gave me a look of desperation.

"I'm too weak after the last attack of the creature. Fighting it drained me and I won't be able to teleport with you nor will you be able to take me with you." Vlad said somberly.

"But I don't feel weak. Why can't I take you?'' I said desperately.

"The creature found a way to poison me so that if you try to connect with me it will substantially weaken your powers. You can't take the chance honey. Just save yourself!" Vlad screamed as the choppers became louder.

"I'm not leaving you behind. How far can you go and remain intangible?" I asked feeling my eyes well with tears.

"I'd be lucky if I could remain invisible just outside the school yard." He replied as he looked at me with tears barely glistening in his own eyes. He tried to remain unemotional and stoic but I knew he was torn by the sudden turn of events. Then an idea hit me.

"I've visited a nearby underground pipe way where the school heating system is installed. We could travel there unseen. It connects to an overflow drainage system." I suggested.

"OK, let's go there." Vlad and I flew invisibly a short distance down to the pipe area. I heard the choppers land and Lancer yelling above ground.

"You ghosts aren't getting away from me! I'm this schools' Vice Principal and I'm also a trained black belt as well as a ghost fighter!" Lancer yelled as we became visible to save energy and tiptoed quickly toward the main overflow system. I heard footsteps and a voice that sounded like a GIW agent.

"Did you see where the ghosts went?" The GIW agent asked.

"I saw them fly up into the ceiling!" Lancer said half out of breath.

"Aaachooo!" Vlad suddenly sneezed and I looked at him in horror. I prayed that no one heard him.

"What was that?" The agent asked as they became quiet in their voice tone, probably trying to gauge where they heard the sound.

"It sounded like it came under the ground. There's a pipe heating system down below. Maybe they're hiding there." Lancer suggested. I looked in terror at Vlad.

"We need to run like crazy and find a tunnel to loose these guys!" I whispered desperately as Vlad nodded and I practically dragged Vlad through the pipe way till I saw the overflow system ahead. We found two tunnels and I felt we should take the right tunnel, so I pulled Vlad and we ran over to it as it became more narrow and we had to go single file. Vlad wanted me to go first but I purposely phased behind him. I was terribly worried about him and we had to get away from everyone that was after us. By now I had completely forgotten I was dreaming.

"Come out ghost scum! You can't hide forever!" The GIW agent hollered down the pipe way from us. His voice began to sound strangely like Walker. I heard dozens of footsteps patting hurriedly down away from us as we quickly tried to find another tunnel to lose them and confuse their pursuit.

"Baby, I'm so tired. I can't make it." He looked down and fell to one knee. His hand was covering his face and when he looked up at me he transformed into his human self. I was horrified to see the ecto-acne had returned on his face.

"That's not possible! That dermal pen re-stabilized your system. You went for years without a relapse!" I whispered.

Yet the ecto-acne has returned. Please don't try to save me, just save yourself. I can't go through this again." Vlad said to me as he looked at me sadly, the blisters on his face now a bright red.

"I will NEVER leave you, I will NEVER let them catch you! If they come I'll use my ghost powers on them to stun them if I have to!" I whispered loudly fighting the desire to shout for fear of being heard. Then I heard what sounded like Walker coming up a hallway ahead of us.

"Your powers wont work underground here. There's a dampening field so that we were barely able to go intangible. Go ahead and try to make an energy orb." Vlad said. I opened my hands and concentrated but nothing happened. I was horrified.

"No matter what I'm not leaving you to be taken away from me!" I said as tears began to pour down my cheeks. Then I turned around sensing a presence close to us.

"So touching! But do you think you could get away with hiding forever?" It sounded like Walker but I couldn't tell who it was. It was a GIW storm trooper. Their faces were fully covered in white armor until this man removed his face gear and I saw Walker's face and stared in disbelief.

"You have no jurisdiction here!" I spat at him.

"I have jurisdiction to track down any fugitive of the ghost zone. Did you really think I didn't notice when you're family trespassed into the Ghost Zone to go to the Realm Beyond Time? I asked around and when I found out what you had done, I decided it would be a pleasure to personally see to your capture." Walker smiled.

"If the GIW spot you they will try to capture you." I warned at him. He laughed.

"I can escape those punks with both my hands tied behind my back. But whether you go back with me to the Ghost Zone or whether they find you and take you to the human prison for ghosts, your days are over. So either way, I still win." Walker said.

"Why are you so against us. Why do you make laws to make it impossible for anyone not to break them?" I asked. I needed to buy time till I could figure out another strategy but I was also curious why Walker was the way he was.

"Because once I tried to be reasonable with you humans. A long time ago I used to let humans travel in and out of the ghost zone. Then a couple of fanatics named Jack and Maddie Fenton tried to invade our realm and capture us. From then I declared war on all humans and made laws to protect the land!" Walker growled. I heard the steps of the GIW getting closer to us.

"Walker, let us go and we'll make sure that Jack and Maddie don't go into the Ghost Zone ever again to bother any of you." Vlad promised.

"Forget it punk! Your ideas and your wealth wont buy you out of your trouble. When are you going to learn you aren't wanted. You are feared by humans and ghosts. You have no one to help you and you're all alone!" Walker said with a sneer. Then Walker's face melded to look like the Time Wrangler. His hideous sneer showing through his smoky form of a face. I screamed in terror.

"Leave us alone you creep! Stop judging us. You don't know anything about us! Just because we're human doesn't mean we are after your kind. Jack and Maddie may have overstepped their bounds but we have done nothing to hurt you!" I protested fighting back tears. Just then Vlad collapsed and fell to the floor. Walker began to laugh and I cried not caring who heard me.

"We're not all evil! We're not all evil! Ignorance is evil! Can't you all just leave us alone! LEAVE US ALONE!" I screamed and then I jolted up in bed. I had sweat all over me and Vlad turned over and looked at me questioningly.

"Sweetheart, are you alright?" Vlad asked. I looked around the room and the adrenaline was still supercharged in my body. I wasn't quite fully awake as I looked to see if the Time Wrangler or GIW were nearby.

"We need to get away from them. They want to hurt us!" I said and then I blinked my eyes and the bedroom came into focus.

"Who wants to hurt us? Sugar bear, are you OK?" Vlad said as he brushed his finger across my damp cheeks.

"I- I just had a very bad nightmare. I dreamed the GIW and the Time Wrangler were chasing us and Lancer turned on us and was after us." I said choking on my words.

"It's OK. It was just a dream baby. I'm right here." He pulled me into a tight hug and I began to calm down. I looked up at Vlad as his half lidded eyes looked down at me.

"I hope someday that we can prove that not all ghosts are evil and shouldn't be hunted just because they're ghosts." I said, my voice halting trying to hold back new tears. This nightmare was the worst one I had in a long time.

"It'll take time, but one day...one day people will evolve in their understanding and learn to accept us." Vlad said with a tone of optimism. I felt confident that day would come, but I still would keep our identities a secret just the same. Better to be safe than sorry. I closed my eyes and hugged Vlad tighter than I had ever done in a long time. He smiled and held me close. Even though I closed my eyes. I don't think I fully went back to sleep for the remainder of the night.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 A Visit to Lake Eerie

**Klaatu: These chapters are slowly building to a climax in an ultimate confrontation with the creature. Danny and the gang thinks it might be hiding in Lake Eerie. Everyone is trying to pit their wits against this being but the creature has few more tricks up its sleeve. I like to have my antagonist to be a worthy opponent. As you no doubt have guessed, Carolyn has mixed feelings about the creature based on her desire to reason with it and make peace with it if possible. **

**I will add an in depth look into the attitudes of the students at Caspar High in dealing with ghosts. I applied one of the ideas shared by Danny Phantom in this fanfic from watching Star Trek Voyager when Captain Janeway was developing a strategy to make peace with the Hirogen hunters. Skulker reminds me a lot of Hirogen hunters and seems like an inspiration from the show in many ways. **

**As always the creature will find new ways to attack electronics as attempts are made to find and capture this elusive being. Review and enjoy.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Checkmate or Endgame.

Vlad's POV

The Polar Vortex left as quickly as it came. Temperatures were back up to 40 degrees which was a heat wave compared to the minus teens that occurred Saturday and Sunday. Of course my home castle in Wisconsin was still covered with blankets of snow but at least the few cows that were on my ranch were placed in a special state of the art barn that kept them very comfortable and the ghost servants kept the castle warmer if I needed to return in an emergency.

As Carolyn and I prepared to go to Lake Eerie I noticed her wearing her hair almost identical to Maddie and even wore the same jumpsuit. She was stunning to look at though I felt a bit awkward being seen with someone that could've easily been mistaken for Jack's wife. That however was the least of my worries as I was uncertain what we would face with this creature. I wore my regular dairy working outfit of jeans, blue work shirt and red scarf. This probably looked odd for those who saw me in my usual attire of my favorite black suit and red bolo tie. I didn't want the ghost to get any stains on my nice suit so I kept my attire simple despite the chuckles I expected to hear for those who were more used to seeing me as the billionaire Mayor of Amity Park.

I packed Jack's original proto portal and some green strobe and laser lights to make the portal look like it did that fateful day it zapped me. When I think back on the accident years ago I'm surprised neither myself nor Carolyn nor anyone else noticed the odd vaporous shape that floated out of the portal. It was chaos when the portal exploded at me and my face felt on fire. When I felt the acne I was mortified thinking back to my early high school days when my acne was rampant. I truly had a decent excuse for not noticing the creature during all that mayhem caused by Jack's carelessness. My deepest hope was that it would be caught today. Yet with all I had pondered about I had to wonder with the portal blast having injured me as badly as it had, how badly had it injured the creature? How long had the creature needed to recover and did it ever fully heal? If it was anything like the pain I felt that day it was no wonder the being thought the portal killed its race.

"I'm picking up some scattered residual ecto energy but no sign of the creature as yet." Carolyn said. When I looked at her I almost called her Madeline a few times. It was like Maddie had sprouted a clone whenever I saw her. She looked at me oddly as I had to keep doing double takes. You think after all this time I would be used to this but I think her wearing the jumpsuit was a game changer. She looked extra sexy in that jumpsuit!

"Baby, stay focused on the readings. We can admire one another later after we capture this thing." Carolyn said with a smirk. She knew she was being a tease. I focused myself on the readings and avoided looking at her as she as an obvious distraction at the moment.

"Yes sweetheart, I'm just making sure the proto portal is ready and some Fenton Thermoses are ready as well." I replied. No sooner had I spoke when in the distance I saw the yellowish orange school bus bouncing over the scratch of a road that was the main gravel road leading to the campsite of Lake Eerie. The bus was a bit earlier than expected but we had most of the ghost traps set up. I saw Mr. Lancer exit the bus followed by the kids piling out as fast as possible. I was grateful this was only a one day field trip and not a week long camp out. When Daniel and Nathan came out of the bus I noticed Nathan rolling his eyes up. It seems kids were always embarrassed when their parents were at a school function. Equally amusing was watching Daniel's jaw dropped when he looked at Carolyn. Yes, she looked just like Maddie to him as well and no doubt he would be joked about it.

"Hey Fenturd, what's your mom doing hanging with the mayor?" Dash said in his usual annoying voice.

"That's not my mom, it's Aunt Carolyn! If you don't believe me I can dial my house and you can hear her pick up!" Daniel said. Dash could really be so annoying at times but Daniel also needed to toughen his hide and simply ignore Dash rather than get upset by his remarks. Dash just loved to say anything to annoy Daniel and get under his skin when the opportunity permitted it. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Nathan run up to me.

"Dad, promise me you and mom wont do anything to embarrass me or Badger. If you and mom kiss one of the kids might take a snapshot and send it to a tabloid." Nathan begged. He had a good reason to be concerned. Carolyn and I appeared on a tabloid magazine before. I was accused of having a secret affair with Maddie. Even though I cleared the air and proved that it was Carolyn in the photo, not Maddie, the damage was done and some to this day still think Maddie and I had a fling. I wasn't as concerned about it but Maddie was livid.

As I looked back on the ghost scanners, nothing unusual showed up. All that appeared was some scattered ecto activity but nothing like the creature at all. Despite the lack of detection, I decided to hook up the lasers along with the lights and make the proto portal appear operational. I focused on the ghosts I could sense in the area and tried to zero in on anything unusual in their behavior as a means of possibly detecting the creature, but nothing showed up. I was getting a bit frustrated and had an idea.

"Daniel, would you come over here for a minute?" I asked as Daniel turned around and jogged over to me.

"What's up Fruitloop?" Daniel replied. How I hated that nickname but I had more important things to discuss with my Little Badger and was hoping he could help me.

"Can you emit a small ghost charge?" I asked him and he looked a bit puzzled but nodded as I saw him put his hands in his pocket to hide the small green energy orbs that he was building up. He kept them small and let them dissipate. When I looked at the ecto monitor Daniel's little stunt didn't even pick up on any of the ghost scanners, yet how was it that the monitor was picking up the other trace ecto energy signatures in the lake?

"Just as I thought. The monitor didn't even sense your energy build up." I commented and Daniel looked understandably puzzled.

"But how can it not detect me yet detect energy signatures of the other ghosts around this lake?" Daniel asked. That was a question that I didn't have the answer to though I had a slight suspicion.

"It is possible that the creature might be dampening the readings so the monitor will pick up some ecto activity but miss other readings. I can't say with certainty that's the case. I know the monitor was working fine this morning before I left." I said feeling mildly frustrated. I saw Carolyn who overheard our conversation with her super ghost hearing as she walked up toward me.

"Try setting the monitor on a fluctuating frequency so it will be more difficult for the creature to try to jam its sensing signal." Carolyn suggested. She had read my mind. I switched its frequency to a more variable rate and for a moment a big blip appeared on the screen that might've been the creature but it was still too distorted for me to tell.

"I think at this point it's best if we just keep our eyes open should the creature decide to fly up out of the lake and head toward the portal. Carolyn has a Fenton Thermos and I have one next to me should it fly up and take the bait." I explained to Daniel as he nodded and ran back to catch up with the other kids and get his assignment for the field trip. I saw Mr. Lancer taking roll call and then glanced at Daniel running up to the class.

"Mr Fenton, you are part of this class and I expect you to stay with the group." Lancer said with his usual intimidating manner. Daniel nodded as everyone line up to get their assignments.

"Today class, you will be assigned to groups of 5. Each of you will have specific tests you will be doing on the lake." Lancer instructed as he passed out a sheets to the captains of their respective teams with the names of those to group together under a specific captain. As he handed the sheets to the selected students, Daniel looked surprised that he was picked as a captain. He shouldn't have been since thanks to my training regimen he was now among the top of his class along side Nathan.

I watched the students that Daniel had been assigned as they grouped together. I saw Tucker and Sam which didn't surprise me as they worked well together. Nathan wasn't the captain this time as he had been during one of the last field trip assignments and preferred not to be anyway. Additionally there was an unexpected choice to the group; Lester. Lester was like an extreme version of me when I use to go to school. I was an introvert in high school because I enjoyed studying more than socializing. He wore glasses and had a crush on Sam but tried to hide it around Daniel as I could sense he didn't want any confrontation. I really felt for Lester and hopefully being a part of this group he might open up more. I saw Sam silently cringe, her body language spoke louder than words. I fine tuned my ghost hearing to their discussion. Hopefully the creature might be detected by the equipment Nathan and Daniel secretly carried. Tucker also had his own home made version of ghost detection. He was brilliant in all things tech savvy so I welcomed his attempts as well.

"Dude, my PDA and other tech is on the fritz. I can barely pick up background EMF fields from the large transformer at the other end of the lake!" Tucker complained. I found that unsettling that his tech also wasn't working up to par. The creature was no doubt affecting any attempts to monitor it.

"Don't you find it odd that all our attempts to figure out and pick up any readings of ghosts don't seem to be working?" Sam questioned. Sam was brilliant in her own way though her attitude of saving trees versus progress that needed to be made in Amity caused us to be at opposite ends in our agendas.

"Yeah, it's weird since I tested it on some ghost vultures earlier this morning and my monitor read them perfectly. Maybe there's something at the campsite jamming the devices." Daniel said. It would've been a relief if it was some natural cause for our ghost detection devices to be all on the fritz. I still had my bets on the creature doing the meddling.

"Let me take a look at it." Nathan said as he examined several devices and rechecked the batteries to make sure they were new.

"I tried to get both Vlad's and my dads' sensors to read ecto energy levels that I produced with my hands. It didn't even register." Daniel complained. I decided to pull out my phone and test a smart app that was used to pick of ecto fields, but even that didn't seem responsive as the green line on the chart stayed flat.

"Well we only have at best several hours to finish our studies so I guess we better focus on Lancer's assignment before he gets suspicious why we're taking so long." Sam suggested. She was keen on keeping the group on track. She had a vested interest in getting her grades up as well.

"OK then, our assignment is each of us has to take a PH water sample at a different end of the lake. Sam, you do the western end. Tucker, you'll test the eastern end. Nathan, you test at the northern end and I'll do the southern end." Daniel instructed each of them as they pulled out test kits they carried from class.

"Dude, I hear the southern end is extra nasty. It's also where a lot of the meaner ghosts like to hide." Tucker said with a tone of concern.

"That's true, but I have ghost powers so I can better defend myself." Daniel replied confidently. Considering some of the ghosts he's battled he probably felt it was a cake walk in comparison. Hopefully between his fights and the training simulations he hadn't gotten too cocky,

"Won't you be worried about getting found out if you are spotted using ghost powers?" Sam asked.

"I have an easy alibi; I can always say a ghost tried to take me over and shot powers out of me." Daniel replied. He had learned well the art of quick alibis when needed. I also knew that Daniel had Sam and Tucker who were ingenious at misdirection at the drop of a hat. Daniel had also improved significantly to the ghost fighter they once knew. He had learned control and discipline with his powers since under my training.

I observed the students all go to their respective areas. Dash's team was in charge of studying water temperature. Paulina's team was in responsible for checking mercury and other metallic levels while Kwan's team was testing for percentage of algae growth per milliliter of water. The rest of the captains were to test after the first group and compare results. The tests seemed rather mundane and I was surprised there wasn't any test done to determine ectoplasm in the water but despite the ghost attacks, it was the official position of Casper High that ghosts were not proven to exist. Not exactly an outright denial but enough to keep the school doors open without raised eyebrows from the superintendent of schools for Amity. I walked over to Carolyn who was sitting in the shade looking at the ghost monitor.

"Still no readings?" I asked. Her expression said it all.

"I haven't detected anything out of the ordinary yet." I confessed. It was irritating to consider the creature might not actually be at Lake Eerie at all and we wasted our efforts.

"I don't understand it. It's just basically dulls-ville for the moment. Care to offer any theories?" She asked. I offered some ideas and wondered if she suspected what I had guessed might be happening.

"While I can't explain with absolute certainty why we're not reading any ghost activity, I wonder if the creature found a means to mask their signals while trying to hide its own. Then again there really might not be any ghost activity in which case I would wonder why the ghosts would've all gone somewhere else seeing as the lake is generally a hotbed for them." I mused as I lightly tapped on a scanner screen a couple of times while mildly charging my hands with my palms face down. It read nothing.

"I didn't see any blip when you charged your hands." Carolyn commented. She could sense when I released even a mild charge. What puzzled me though was if something was blocking the scanners, it would have to have discharged a field similar to the ghosts it was trying to conceal. I didn't pick up a large background field at all. It was just a steady nothing.

My thoughts were interrupted as a flock of Canadian geese began to fly and darted around wildly. They were acting a bit erratic in their flight path so I took a closer look at them.

"I wonder what's up with the geese?" Carolyn asked as she noticed they weren't even trying to form an orderly V formation and kept circling around dipping wildly and randomly.

"Wait a minute, I think I've got something." I said as I noticed a big upside down U shape wave blip on the ghost monitor. It was like all at once it had woken up. Maybe the ghosts truly had gone some where and just materialized back in the lake. I glanced over to Daniel's direction and could tell he also had seen something on his monitor as he waved Tucker who was across the lake. The next moment there was a strange sound that sounded like a cow only deeper and echoed all over the lake. I tried to focus on its location but even my sensitive ghost hearing wasn't able to pinpoint it. Then I saw Dash running and screaming.

"Mr. Lancer! Look out!" Dash hollered as a big gunky bulge of water rose up like some deformed play-dough doll and proceeded to splat over Lancer as he was sitting with his back to the edge of the lake. I heard a scream from him as he began to run away from the shore covered in slimy lake sludge.

"Everyone head to the bus!" He screamed as he tried to get to the bus to open the bus doors before he slipped and fell as the muck was dripping from his clothes. I looked down at my monitor again and the ghost readings were off the charts. When it rains it truly pours in Amity Park! Nathan whistled and hollered at everyone to get away from the lake as if they needed to be told twice. Carolyn and I immediately grabbed the proto portal and fired up the battery powered green lasers to make the portal appear it was firing its green beam again.

"Did you pick up the creature yet? I'm getting scattered readings but nothing even close to it!" Carolyn said frantically. I decided to grab a Fenton Foamer as Carolyn grabbed a Fenton Thermos. I saw Nathan and Daniel already having their thermoses ready to catch any ghost foolish enough to challenge them. I knew they were secretly hoping the creature would show up but still no readings to indicate it was even at the lake although many other ghost readings appeared at the moment.

"I'm going to help Mr. Lancer, keep an eye on the readings!" Carolyn said as she began to run toward Lancer as he tried to wipe muddy slime off his face but with little success. As I glanced over to the bus I was stunned as the bus began to move on its own at a sudden fast speed and dove straight into the lake and began to sink. Daniel turned to me with a questioning look. I knew that look; he wanted to go ghost to try to save the bus but I gently shook my head. There was no direct threat to life, just the bus was dunked into the lake. He didn't need to risk exposing his powers. Not yet, anyway. Carolyn tried to help Mr. Lancer but I overheard Lancer tell her to call emergency back up transportation and get the kids into the nearby camp cabin. She nodded and hollered at everyone to take shelter in the cabin until help arrived. I decided to save time and speed dialed the Fentons and asked them to attach a spare RV they had to the Fenton Speeder. I knew Lancer wasn't thrilled with the Fenton's being the rescue back up but they were the best choice at the moment. I hollered at Carolyn.

"I'm already on the phone calling the Fentons!" I said as she looked at me and nodded, running toward the cabin and getting the cabin doors open as kids stampeded in.

"We can take fit 5 kids in our car if we fold out the back. That'll make more room for the kids loading in the RV." Carolyn suggested in a text she sent me. She could type lightening fast which came in handy in these situations. It was so noisy, sending a text was easier than trying to holler over the screams of panicked high schoolers.

I kept looking as I stood near the portal but nothing was coming my way. No sign of the creature at all and I concluded it was smart to just pack it up and get the car ready for passengers.

"Paranormal Activity! Kids, stay quiet inside the cabin!" Lancer yelled as he saw the slowly sinking bus shaking around as if some invisible ghost was moving it around. It finally submerged as its roof disappeared under the mucky waters and huge bubbles came up in its wake. I saw Carolyn running with Nathan's entire team heading toward our car. I quickly loaded the portal in the trunk and pulled the front side of the trunk area over which opened up several extra seats. I hit the alarm that opened all the doors simultaneously as the kids began to pile in the car.

"Wasn't that the craziest thing ever!?" Sam asked out of breath as Mickey remained quiet, visibly shaken.

"Dude, I mean there wasn't even any real ghost readings and then just all of the sudden, out of the blue we get attacked! I don't get it!" Tucker asked looking confused as Daniel and Nathan exchanged glances at each other.

"It was like we were all lured into a false sense of security when all at once we got attacked!" Daniel said looking more angry than upset. I know how badly he wanted to catch the creature and today was a big bust.

"It sure seems like that Badger. I know Lancer isn't too happy right now but why the ghosts decided to pick on him is rather puzzling." Nathan said. I wondered the same thing. Lancer wasn't the only one that was next the lake yet he was picked out. Maybe he was just a random target in the wrong place at the wrong time, maybe not. I was shaken when I heard some loud screeches from the geese and noticed some water ghosts starting to head toward the cabin.

"Nathan and Daniel, maybe you should check behind the bushes as I may have left a sensor." I said calmly. That was a code phrase to tell them to exit and hide behind the bushes and transform into ghosts. We were now under attack instead of just the bus and Lancer getting dunked and they knew what to do. They exited the middle back seat and Lester looked questioning at them as they got out.

"Be careful you two!" Carolyn said. She looked at me and I nodded at her. I hated having her go but I needed to stay at the car and guard my passengers should any ghosts try to turn and attack Sam, Tucker and Lester.

I saw Carolyn run to an area concealed with trees and vegetation. A few minutes later my beloved appeared again now transformed into my lovely Carolyn Plasmius along with Nathan and Daniel. They all took flight and began to shoot at various ghosts that flew up out of the lake. Carolyn was as an excellent sharp shooter as she zapped numerous ghosts into ectoplasm along with Daniel and Nathan. I then saw Daniel begin to shoot freeze powers with both hands on the surface of the lake and freeze the remaining ghosts. He kept firing to make a wall of ice that appeared to form over several feet thick over the lake surface trapping the remaining pests under the water. Ecto formed ice prevented any ghost from escaping and served as an excellent temporary ghost catching tool

Carolyn along with Nathan and Daniel also had their thermoses out and were quickly catching ghosts that dodged their blasts. Some other ghosts fled the thermoses and so Carolyn, Nathan and Daniel also created several spheres with their energy and merged them together in one sphere that swooped down and trapped a good number of fleeing ghosts. They then steered the sphere over a Fenton Thermos and watched the ghosts become sucked into the thermos.

"Man, Danny Phantom, Nathan Phantom and Carolyn Plasmius. It's lucky they were in the area!" Lester said. Sam and Tucker looked at each other and smirked. I was relieved however that the remaining ghosts had fled the area as that indicated they had been scared away. I watched my wife, Nathan and Daniel float behind some trees. A few minutes later Carolyn, Nathan and Daniel all in their human forms ran toward the car as I noticed the Fenton Speeder with the RV attached behind it bump its way down the dirt gravel road that lead to the camp.

"The calvary has arrived!" Tucker said jokingly as the Fenton's came up to the cabin. Maddie was driving this time and quickly sped up to the cabin. She and Jack popped out and quickly began escorting the students out of the cabin into the RV behind the Speeder. As a spare bus also barreled its way down the road to the campsite I heard Dash yelling.

"Hey Fenturd! Why don't you get on the bus so I can kick your butt!" Dash hollered.

"Nice seeing you too Dash!" Daniel said sarcastically and otherwise ignored him.

"Later Dasher!" Nathan said. He was more like me and sometimes was more tempted to pick a fight than Daniel but chose to do the smart thing and just ignore Dash. Of course that didn't mean he wouldn't overshadow Dash later and cause him to throw himself into the locker. He was a lot like Daniel as well.

"Man I wish we'd caught that ghost creature!" Tucker grumbled disappointed only the usual ghosts came to battle.

"Well, on the positive note, the trip wasn't as boring as we feared it might be." Nathan said with a smile.

"Yeah, this was way more exciting than doing PH readings on the lake. But I agree with Tucker, it's too bad we weren't able to spot and capture the creature." Sam said feeling a bit deflated. I would've liked to finally capture this being. It was like a pebble in a shoe; it wasn't too threatening yet but it knew how to get under one's skin. It was particularly aggravating to me as it kept bringing up a timeline I'd rather had not known had ever existed.

"Didn't it seem the ghosts weren't quite as fast as usual. They seemed almost too easy to catch." Tucker added and I thought on the idea. They were hiding and then seemed to pop out with no particular order, yet the ghost catching was a bit easier this time. Maybe the ghosts had become careless in their arrogance.

"Capturing is made easier when you know what you're doing!" Nathan said as he gave Daniel a high 5. I saw Sam out of the rear view window rolling her eyes up. My son sometimes liked to brag like his old man, I guess I wasn't the best example when he was growing up. I always felt I had to be the best when I was younger because of my demanding father. I had no idea how much of an impact he had on me later in my life.

"I tend to agree with Mr. Foley. The ghosts were a bit too easy to catch this time." I commented. This wasn't a time to be relaxed simply because the fight was easier. I suspected we might've overlooked something but I couldn't say what.

"Well these were mostly feral ghosts. They were more primitive in nature unlike say Technus or Pariah Dark." Carolyn added as we finally made our way up to the front driveway at Casper High. The Fenton Speeder and spare bus was already there and kids were quickly exiting up to the door, probably many were still adrenaline charged from the earlier ghost attack. As the kids exited our car I looked to Carolyn.

"Honey, I think I should stay behind and keep an eye out for anything unusual." I added.

"I think I'd like to stay with you just in case you need extra backup." She suggested. I gave her a questioning look.

"Which of us should go invisible and keep an eye on the classroom?" I asked with a smirk.

"I get the feeling you want to check on things so I guess I'll let you have your fun." Carolyn smiled. She knew me well. I felt the need to keep an eye out in the class as I felt the creature might decide to make a move. After parking I looked around and not seeing anyone went invisible as Carolyn left the car and decided to wait outside the classroom. She had volunteered as a parental hall monitor so her being outside was the more logical choice. I had transformed into Plasmius as I remained invisible while teleporting into the classroom. Daniel covered his mouth as he undoubtedly had mist come up upon my presence in ghost form. I saw Mr. Lancer still a mess from the attack of the lake.

"Well class, unfortunately it looks like our field trip was cut short. In the meantime, write a one page essay on your experience at the Lake today. Now if you'll excuse me as I change." Lancer said as he turned and jogged out the door. Since he had been zapped by Jack's ecto goo gun he always kept a spare set of clothes stored in a dresser at the teacher's lounge. There also were shower stalls installed so he had all bases covered. Jack's reputation for making messes was fairly common knowledge at Casper High.

"Dude, where do you think that entity creature is hiding. We were skunked at Lake Eerie." Tucker asked Daniel.

"I still can't help thinking it was concealing itself in some weird way." Daniel sighed. I had thought that a lot as well. The creature was very adept in messing with electronics. It may have found a way to mess with our monitors yet remain undetectable.

"Well, at least we scared off some other ghosts so the day wasn't a total waste." Sam said as she was pulling out her notebook.

"I really hope we don't have to go back to the lake for the rest of the year. It's bad enough to have a lake named Lake Eerie but with a campsite named Skull and Crossbones doesn't sound to safe for a camp retreat!" Kwan said. Kwan didn't like to show fear often being one of the football players and always preferred to look macho and tough, but today he sounded really scared despite his efforts to conceal the fear in his tone. This campsite and lake was one of the creepiest places in Amity Park next to a visit to the Ghost Zone.

I saw Mr. Lancer hurry back into the classroom, now cleaned up. As he sat at his desk he looked out the window as if to see if a ghost might be lurking about and then he turned back to the class.

"Alright class, I would like you to put the title of the essays you're writing to say "First Contact." Lancer said and everyone looked at him puzzled. I wasn't sure where he was going with this at first.

"You mean we're going to be writing about aliens?" Dash asked trying to hide the nervousness in his voice from the earlier events of the day.

"It might be an appropriate title. These manifestations that keep bothering Amity and in particular, our school are unknown incorporeal lifeforms. We really aren't sure who or what many of these beings really are and shouldn't label them as ghosts so loosely even if they have ghost-like traits. We cannot just assume to know where they may have come from. The term of alien doesn't just imply beings that come from another planet, it can also imply any unknown being that may not have come from here." Lancer said. I found the topic to be very odd and rather vague. This seemed to go against the school policy to openly acknowledge something that might imply ghosts, yet Lancer was using the term of 'alien life forms' like a loophole since the term ghost wasn't actually being used. Daniel raised his hand.

"So are we to call them aliens of unknown origin instead of ghosts?" Daniel asked. Lancer's eyes widened with acknowledgement.

"Yes, that is an excellent term to use. And it is my hope that the more we attempt to learn about these beings, the more we may understand them and learn why they do what they do. " Lancer replied. It seemed rather odd of Lancer to seem so impressed with Daniel's comment as well as with the ghost or unknown aliens as he called them. In fact as I looked closer at Lancer, he seemed a bit off since the attack at the lake. Lancer looked at the class and continued sounding even stranger.

"Hopefully we may even find a path to peace if we can find common ground with these creatures. We need to understand them if peace is to be achieved and determined if they truly are a threat or just simply misunderstood beings." Lancer added. Now he was going off the deep end. His eyes looked glazed almost like he wasn't there at all. Although his pupil color remained the same, if I didn't know any better I would've guessed he was being overshadowed by someone or something. Yet despite his acting odd, his idea seemed very noble. As I thought more about it I realized how different Jack and Maddie's attitude about ghosts was than that of Lancer's at the moment. Theirs was of intolerance and in Jack's case extreme ineptitude. I recall once a being that actually looked like an alien came out of the Fenton Portal. Jack however was insistent that it was a ghost because it came through the portal. I didn't know who to pity more, Jack or the alien.

My thoughts focused back on Lancer as he went back to grading papers as if what he said was completely normal. Whether or not he was being controlled by a ghost I wouldn't know at the moment so I focused on peeking at the student's papers to see what they would write. Before I began to float around to view some I overheard Paulina whispering to herself.

"How can anyone expect to have peace with ghosts? You can call them something else but a ghost is still a ghost and they're still a menace!" She mumbled. She was particularly resentful as her dad nearly lost his job at Axion until I bought out the company. As I thought more about what Lancer said, as odd and as out of character as he sounded I was impressed that he was having an open mind about the subject. This brought back my own recollections of the prior prejudices I once had concerning ghosts.

When I used to hang with Jack and Maddie prior to the portal accident we all assumed that ghosts were inherently evil. There were numerous cases of ghosts who had haunted and troubled people living in houses. There were also cases of hauntings in which no one was being troubled at all. Yet despite these alternative hauntings Jack and Maddie neglected to consider that of these some ghosts or whatever these beings were might not even be evil at all. Only when I became a half ghost and came into contact with Carolyn who was from another world did I even consider beings from other worlds that may have been mistaken as ghosts. I never thought of Carolyn as having an evil bone in her body although I confess I had my share of villainous moments.

I hovered remaining invisible over the different desks, curious what some of the other students would write. I was especially curious with Miss Sanchez. She had looked visibly upset at the mention of potential for peace from these beings. I decided to peek and see what she would write. I was somewhat mildly surprised.

"It's difficult to imagine any other worldly beings that have been haunting Amity Park as willing to make peace with humans. If a peace were to be achieved, some brave soul would have to most likely go to the Ghost Zone and meet with some of them and find out why they like to attack humans. Do they resent our presence? If so, why? Did one of our kind hurt one of their kind during some historical event?" Paulina wrote thinking long and hard on her essay. For someone who hated ghosts as much as she, her willingness to try to suggest a means to find common ground with the beings spoke volumes of her. Despite her outward hatred for ghosts, she may have truly wanted to find a means to make peace between ghosts and humans but was never offered the choice to consider the possibility. At least until this assignment. I hovered past her and looked over to Daniel who was busy writing down his ideas. I looked at his paper and although I had an idea what he might write, I was also in for a surprise.

"I am not certain that peace is possible with these unknown creatures. I have heard stories of this one ghost named Danny Phantom, which is actually one of the few beings that fights for humans. Danny Phantom has often been a target of another creature named Skulker. Skulker is always trying to hunt Danny and other creatures for pelts. As disturbing as this is, I spoke with my relative, Aunt Carolyn who suggested that a holo program be created for beings like Skulker. This program would create creatures that Skulker could hunt. Since they are simply holograms, they cannot feel and wouldn't actually be hurt, but Skulker could get his hunting nature out of his system . Such a program could be made to give these creatures that occupy Amity with a playground of sorts. Maybe that would remove their desire to bother humans if in fact having such a playground would be all they would really want." Daniel explained appearing deep in thought.

I was truly impressed with my Little Badger. He had fought with many ghosts and was yet willing to consider this idea to create programs to sate the haunting or hunting nature of these ghosts. It was an ingenious idea if I might say so myself. I hovered over to Nathan and looked at his take on dealing with ghosts. He had yet another idea in dealing with the challenges of ghosts.

"I think that if we are to make peace with any kind of entity that is unknown to us, we first must make sure that the being can understand us. Discovering why the being is doing what it is doing may help open a dialog that could eventually result in a truce between the beings and the humans. It is also important to remember that some of these creatures may not have human like sentience and still be on the level of animal life forms that behave on instinct rather than reason. For such life forms, capture may be the only available action. That being said, when dealing with beings that we are able to communicate with, an exchange program where one of them lives with us and we in turn send an exchange student of sorts to live with them for a while may help bridge any gaps of misunderstandings between us and these lifeforms.." Nathan wrote. I was equally impressed with my Little Lemur. It was truly fascinating to see his approach of the dealing with ghosts.

I considered going back outside the classroom to check on Carolyn when Dash's paper caught my eye. Dash was a bully at times and I was curious how he would handle such an approach to keep the ghosts at bay. I took a closer look at his paper to see what his strategy would be.

"The only way to have peace with these ghosts is for them to learn some respect. Fear is the best peace keeper that I know. If some spook wants to mess with me, they'll think twice if I am planning to clobber it if it decides it wants to pick on me. I think there needs to be tougher stronger ghost hunting equipment. There's no deterrent that is quite as effective as having the toughest weapon. If a ghost thinks it can get away with haunting or scaring someone, it's going to keep doing it. However if that same ghost gets pummeled after trying to mess with someone, it will want to stay away unless it is totally stupid." Dash wrote.

Dash had the attitude of carrying a big stick but left out the part about speaking softly. His paper seemed more like the way I would've thought Miss Sanchez to write. Fortunately, glancing at many other papers, Dash was the rare exception. Most wanted to have peace with the ghosts. They had seen ghost fighting day in and out but in the end, all it did was buy another day till another ghost attack happened. I didn't fully disagree with Dash as I knew some ghosts who would never learn, but combine all the ideas of the different students together and a workable solution might actually be achieved.

I floated through the door and Carolyn turned to me and smiled. She couldn't see me but she was able to sense my signature as she smiled in my direction.

"You feel like heading home?" Carolyn whispered toward me. I could tell she was visibly tired even with her ghost energy to charge her. She was showing signs of exhaustion and today was another of those stressful days involving battling ghosts. I can't imagine how Daniel used to do this mostly by himself.

"I would like to go home if my wife would come join me." I said invitingly. She walked up to me and held my hand that I allowed her to be able to touch by concentrating. Her hands felt warm and her breath sounded slow. She was a lot more tired than she was letting on. As I waited for her response, I heard my phone buzz on vibrate. I picked it up hoping it wasn't some confounded telemarketer or worse, one of my companies needing me to come down and pay a visit.

"Mr. Mayor, I'm sorry to bother you but you'd better take a look on the local news right now." Came Wes, the office manager who was at Amity's Public Works department.

"Sweetheart, I'll need to go change and see what's on my phone." I apologized and she nodded as I flew into the men's room and transformed into my human self. As I looked on my phone and opened a news app I saw Harriet Chin on the air. She was standing in front of the mansion with protesters and picket signs behind her with signs that read phrases like ' Save Our Town Now!'. Another sign read 'Our Lights! Our Lives!'

"_Today protesters took to the streets over problems with the recent traffic lights. Some lights stayed red and left motorists stuck for hours. Other lights just went out altogether. One motorist said the lights have been going on the blink all week. The problem has been limited to the streets between 5th and 7th Avenue. One of the major complaints comes from people who have said they contacted the city but no one ever contacted them back. They called Mayor Masters office and feel that the Mayor has completely ignored them. More tonight at 11." _Harriet reported. I was stunned at what I saw.

"I don't understand. I've checked messages everyday and never heard one complaint!" I said feeling rather confused and upset while trying not to take out my frustration personally on Wes.

"I understand sir. Again there may be something wrong with the phone lines but so far the phone company hasn't found out anything. The answering machine may be on the fritz. I can come over to the mansion and check it out." Wes offered.

"No that won't be necessary as I'm heading there right now." I said trying to calm my temper.

I understand. Let me know if you need anything at all." Wes said before saying goodbye. I felt like yelling at Wes but I resisted. Of course I checked the machine everyday. I would noticed if the confounded thing was working or not! Yet apparently it might be messing up and it probably should just be replaced. I looked at Carolyn with regret in my eyes.

"Looks like an early evening will have to wait, sweetheart." I confessed. I would've preferred going straight home and having Carolyn give me a much needed back massage but that would not happen now.

"That's alright. You're worth the wait." Carolyn said invitingly as she leaned in and gave me a tender kiss on the lips. She was still in her jumpsuit and looked too much like Madeline. I knew it was her but couldn't help feeling like I was cheating on Carolyn because she and Madeline looked so identical. And of course during the kiss the school janitor just happened to walk by and see us. Undoubtedly he would spread more rumors that Maddie had popped in the school and engaged in a stolen kiss with the Mayor behind her husband's back. Despite the numerous times I explained and even proved to everyone that Carolyn wasn't Madeline, the rumors still flew from time to time. Fortunately for me I had grown a thick skin over the years of living with my dad.

I was glad the mansion was only a couple of blocks from the school. As I walked there I decided to test the answering machine to see if it was working correctly. As I dialed my office, the phone rang two times and then my recording came on.

"Hello, you have reached the desk of Mayor Vlad Masters, the Mayor who is committed to making Amity Park a city for the people. Please leave your name and number at the sound of the tone and either I or one of my staff will return your call as soon as possible." My voice played and then the beep came on.

"Testing the answering machine." I said dryly and hung up. Now I would personally go to the answering machine to see if it did in fact successfully record my message. I saw the protesters in front of the sidewalk and silently wished I could've teleported, but I signed up for this so meeting the people was my job. I gulped as I was approached by an angry middle aged woman who began glaring at me angrily.

"Why didn't you return any calls?! The lights have been on the blink all week!" She scowled at me like I had run over her dog.

"I assure you madam that I am having someone look at the problem with the traffic lights right now. I suspect there may also be a problem with the answering machine and that also will be addressed expediently." I offered. No sooner had I finished than another protester, a young man in his 20's began to yell at me.

"How can you be a mayor of this town and let this town go to heck?!" He hollered. I knew not to engage in a battle of words. Staying and sounding calm was key.

"I can say I'm as upset about this as anyone. I expect the lights to be fixed soon and I will make sure the answering system is working properly." I stated curtly and walked quickly toward the mansion door. I was then stopped momentarily by a protester that was an elderly woman pointing an accusing finger at me.

"Young man, you should know better than to have an affair with another man's wife!" She snarled at me. Again, I barely left the school and the rumors already began to fly once again.

"My wife is often mistaken for Madeline Fenton. They are identical twins." I defended. They were more than identical twins. Carolyn even had the same DNA as Maddie as she and Maddie discovered after taking a lab test out of curiosity. She truly was Maddie from another reality. And now facing all these protesters I would've liked to have been in any other reality but this one at the moment.

I swerved around remaining angry protesters and made it none too soon to the front door and quickly let myself in. I think it was the fastest I ever used a key to open the door as I slammed it shut behind me and leaned against it to take a breath. I wasn't sure which was worse at the moment, being accused of incompetence or infidelity. I sighed as I hit the recorder and held my breath. A computer voice came on saying I had 50 messages. I waited to hear my voice along with numerous other messages but there was just a beep and no recordings other than static. I was puzzled as this answering machine wasn't a year old and began to malfunction. I sent a text to Wes to get a new answering machine ASAP. I needed a reliable answering system yesterday!

As I kept listening the electronic voice it would count down each message and I was truly confounded. There was only silence after each call. This machine never had a glitch until recently which happened to be the same time the creature began to visit us. Maybe it was a coincidence, maybe not. Alas, I often learned that modern technology wasn't as durable as older technology. I then received a text from Wes saying that street repair was looking at the lights but they appeared to be find now. He also text that Elmerton, the town next to Amity had its lights going on the blink. I was baffled. It almost seemed like someone or something was messing with systems and then letting them work fine while attacking another neighboring town. I didn't believe in gremlins, but I did have experience with one certain pesky visitor that seemed to have a thing for electronics besides Technus. This had to be the work of the creature!

I text back as I didn't feel like talking to Wes and asked him to have the repairmen run several diagnostics on the traffic lights to be certain they were alright. At least then I could say that the matter had been looked into thoroughly even if nothing was ever found. I then felt a badly needed ghost presence which was was Carolyn. At least she isn't the Mayor and can get away with teleportation to avoid the protesters. I was grateful for her presence as she always had a way of making me feel better when I was having a lousy day, which lately was happening on a daily basis. She materialized into her human form as she walked up to me and tenderly put her arms around me.

"Did my buttercup have a rough day?" She asked as she twirled her index finger on my goatee, making it to tickle slightly. Her touch felt heavenly as I worked to breath out the stress of the day.

"It was rough enough. I had Wes contact city repair about the traffic lights and naturally they started working fine without explanation, but then Elmerton's went on the blink." I replied tiredly.

"Sounds like a pretty rough day to me." Carolyn sighed. She had no idea how crazy it had gotten.

"It got a lot rougher after another rumor that I was accused of being caught cheating with Jack Fenton's wife again. Maybe you should think about dying your hair again sweetheart." I said softly as she smiled.

"You know that never works. They just complain that I'm Maddie trying to disguise myself. If Maddie and I are together though that seems to fix things. But do you know what really works best? Stop worrying what other people think all the time." She said as she looked up at me while softly massaging the back area of my neck which helped to relieve a badly nagging stress knot.

"I suspect these little glitches might be related to the creature." I sighed as she motioned me to turn around and began to slide her hands inside my shirt and massage my shoulders. I felt myself form a goofy grin as she hit some tighten nerves that began to loosen and then she suddenly stopped and a sudden look of fear hit her face.

"Doesn't Elmerton have those nuclear power plants?" She asked me. I then recalled this and I didn't need to read minds to know what she was thinking.

"You don't think this creature might try to hack and mess with the power plants?" I suggested as I felt new beads of sweat form on my forehead.

"We better alert them. Just call them a suspected cyber hacker. You know they wont take you seriously if you say it may be a ghost threat." Carolyn cautioned. She was right. One time poor Jack made a lame brain decision to contact the President of the United States about the need for ghost security in our country. I had to come down and convince North Mercy Hospital's psychiatric ward to release Jack and that he was mentally fine, just a bit over enthusiastic thinking everything bad was in part due to ghosts.

I tried to speed dial Elmerton but got a busy signal so I sent an urgent text directly to the plant manager and alerted them to possible cyber threats based on recent attacks on our town. I got an actual text response from a live person thanking me and that immediate precautions would be taken. I knew of course the smartest precaution would be to do a safe shutdown of the plant as this threat was increasing. It had seemed the creature had taken on a new frightening step that now directly threatened the lives of everyone. It needed to be stopped.

"You know, what we really need to do is to have a way to interact with the creature. It is constantly attacking us but even though it seems to understand what we say, I think it really doesn't trust us." Carolyn said trying to psychoanalyze the being.

"It seems to understand what we say and even respond intelligently, but it acts more like an instinctual creature. Like an animal that is striking out because it is hurting and doesn't know what else to do." I said pondering on the various antics the creature had created over the last couple of weeks.

"Maybe its a creature who may be intellectually as able to communicate with us in human words, but emotionally it is still a creature acting on basic instinct. It probably considers us a threat and might be testing various electronic systems to find vulnerabilities." Carolyn explained. I looked at her and contemplated what she was implying.

"Clarify." I asked. I had an idea what she was getting at but I needed Carolyn to make it plain.

"Let's look at all its behavior. It constantly shows timelines where you were seriously hurt. It keeps looking at the way you were treated, and I suspect that it perceives this is the way most humans treat one another. Unfortunately that is in a very bad light. It remembers the Vlad that was left at the hospital for years while Jack and Maddie got married, never bothering to contact you all that time until they became engaged." Carolyn explained. When I recalled that painful chapter of a life I once lived in another time, I became both angry and hurt. Why would they have left me there like that? I had probably placed all the blame on Jack but neither of them came. I could imagine making excuses that they were ashamed or afraid of my reaction.

"That creature must think we're a race of unfeeling uncaring morons!" I said in horror as I realized that would explain why the creature would see us as a threat. Add to the fact it thinks the proto portal killed its race, it's suspicion that we were a thoughtless cruel species would cause it to find a way to try to possibly do to us what it perceived we had done to its kind...total extermination!

"All it talks about is how badly I was treated. Then it speaks about wishing it's companion had been given the same chance that I had." I reminisced.

"Somehow it still remembers the former timeline. It may be able to exist in a state outside of normal spacetime." Carolyn said somberly. It all made sense now. This creature just didn't think of the ones who operated the proto portal as a threat, but now it was considering all humans a threat that needed to be dealt with. And the only reason that its attacks were currently limited to Amity is that it must've followed me here and then eventually found a means to interact with our universe albeit just through electronics. But the world was interconnected and it was only a matter of time when its interests would cause it to seek a power grid that was a main supplier to the eastern seaboard and so on.

"We have to first catch this creature and then try to reason with it. I've been reading a lot of thoughtful ideas from the students at Casper High. I was truly impressed how many of them had meaningful ideas to make peace with at least some of the ghosts." I explained.

"This gives me an idea. We've been always trying so hard to get the creature to come to us. Maybe its time we go to the creature. Data suggests it originally came from that rip we discovered that in hyperspace. It may have then somehow jumped into another area of that rift that sent it through the portal at Wisconsin State University all those years ago. What we desperately need now is to make an interface that allows it to communicate easily and try to open a dialog. Of course, if we capture it I am certain it will solidify its suspicion we are hostile unless we can convince it that we need it to hear us out first." Carolyn illustrated the hurdles we faced. I added to her idea.

"What if we program the interface to emulate certain emotions via vocal tone. It can learn to communicate both its emotion and the words so we can have a clearer dialog. There can't afford to be any mistakes." I proposed. This would take a great deal of work on both our parts. If its expression of emotions was the same as ours, then hopefully this interface would allow it the freedom to communicate what its true fears, thoughts and intentions were on a much deeper level than words could do alone. If we could just prove to it that we weren't the brutal race it had perceived us as. This would of course also require a disturbing confrontation that I hadn't done in either realities; asking Jack and Maddie why they never visited me in the hospital.

"Any concerns?" Carolyn asked. She could tell I was troubled at the idea of having to open old wounds.

"I know that Maddie and Jack will try to dodge my question about not visiting me in the hospital all those years with the argument being that the former timeline no longer exists and is thus irrelevant. Despite the fact none of us recalls this timeline, the creature still does. I need them to be able to say to the creature the real reason they never visited me. If it's what I suspect it is the creature will finally understand. That they were both afraid and ashamed." I explained. While not really excusable, it still made perfect sense now that I thought of it. Jack was horrified when he zapped me that day. Maddie felt equally guilty she hadn't warned me to stay away from the portal eye as I stood too dangerously close to it.

"We need this interface dropped off in the Ghost Zone with a holo-projection of you. We know that this creature is drawn to you. If it sees an image of you, I guarantee it will be drawn to it. I actually believe in a messed up way it may actually care about you." Carolyn said. What she said made sense. I think that I may have reminded the creature of its companion in some way. It did say it's mate had suffered and may have even been killed.

"Honey, get a hold of Nathan and Daniel." I instructed. Finally, it seemed we had a working plan to somehow reason with this creature. Time was of the essence as the creature was showing to become

increasingly threatening with its attacks.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 Know the Truth

**Klaatu: In the last chapter the Casper High students met an unexpected surprise at the lake but no one could locate the creature. It may have not been detected at the lake but it was definitely there. Remember this creature is getting more clever in masking it's signature. As you may have figured out, the being is testing various technology to learn it and determine it's weaknesses. Think of the raptors in Jurassic Park testing a cage to look for weaknesses in it's locking mechanisms. **

**In the previous chapter it also used its natural electrical signals to influence the ghosts in the lake to attack. It's ultimate goal is to be able to better learn how to control anything vulnerable to electronic impulses and find new ways to wreak havoc while it seeks revenge on those it perceives responsible for the extinction of its species and in particular, it's companion. In this chapter it will find new ways to flex it's muscles as the team tries to develop a way to contain the creature while make meaningful contact with it and convince it that the proto portal lab accident didn't destroy it's kind. As always, enjoy and remember to review. **

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Checkmate or Endgame

General POV

As Danny and Nathan arrived home from school Carolyn broke the news of the latest strategy to try to capture the creature and try to open a dialog of communication with it. Danny is a bit more skeptical of the idea but Nathan believes it will work.

"No offense Aunt Carolyn, but having a computer that directly interfaces with the creature sounds pretty risky. What if it uses the computer to mess with more stuff than it ever could before?" Danny cautioned looking distressed at the thought.

"I know it's a risk, but it's a risk we need to take in order to track and capture the being and hopefully prove to it we are not the threat it thinks we are." Carolyn explained. She was desperate to get this menace caught and also to open a dialog with the being. Carolyn knew the creature needed to be restrained but she was one who sought a path for peace if it was at all possible.

"It still seems a bit Fruitloopy to me." Danny replied and Vlad rolled his eyes.

"Only you Daniel would even manage to label our plan with the nickname you so fondly like to use for me." Vlad grinned shaking his head.

"I think the plan will work." Nathan said giving it a vote of confidence. Vlad turned to Danny who still had a skeptical look on his face that seemed unchangeable and shook his head in doubt.

"Well Little Badger, do you have a better idea? If so I am all ears." Vlad challenged. As excited as he was about the plan he too knew the risks were less than ideal. Part of him welcomed any idea that Danny might have. Danny however smirked at Vlad's last comment and suspected why.

"All ears?" Danny asked trying to suppress a chuckle. A week ago Danny suggested that Vlad dress up as a Vulcan during a political rally that Vlad thought was a costume ball. Vlad was the only one dressed up and the press went wild with it, but he had gotten use to receiving as well as dishing pranks out. His own son Nathan was even worse prankster than Danny. Many of the ideas behind pranks Danny pulled including the Vulcan prank were suggested originally by Nathan.

"Yes I am certain you and your co plotters got a huge laugh seeing me dressed up for the wrong occasion but try to focus on the moment at hand." Vlad responded to Danny's comment with a muffled grin. Danny reeled back to his concern. He felt Vlad's plan was ambitious but

"Have you run this idea across mom and dad?" Danny asked. He suspected they would be less than thrilled with the idea and his mom was especially keen for spotting any flaws in Vlad's plan.

"I prefer to let Carolyn run it by them. She can present the plan much more eloquently." Vlad remarked. Vlad also knew that Carolyn and Maddie got along a lot better than he and Jack. There was still some soreness in their relationship after the fight he and Jack had years earlier over each believing the other stole ideas to inventions.

"I think placing the computer where Technus can find it will help to lure the creature to it than just leaving it randomly in the Ghost Zone. Technus loves to brag about any new technological finds." Nathan added. Danny smirked at the comment. He still wasn't entirely convinced the idea was sound.

"And what's to stop Technus from trying to tear or reverse engineer the computer?" Danny asked. He knew Technus was a whiz tearing apart and tinkering with components just like Tucker.

"The unit will be solid components that can't be taken apart without destroying the unit. I am betting Technus will want to keep it intact as he studies it." Carolyn said hoping to convince Danny. She and Vlad had their minds made up but she hoped that Danny would be receptive to the plan.

"And what's to keep Technus or the creature for that matter from finding the tracker that's hiding in the unit?" Danny asked. He was covering all bases. He learned to be devil's advocate over the months of listening to Nathan debate with his dad over numerous things. As agreeable as Nathan was with the plan, there were many more times where Nathan and Vlad loved to debate as much as Danny and Vlad.

"I disguised the tracker in what looks like an ordinary battery powering the device." Vlad said rather boastfully. He was rather proud of the invention that he and Carolyn built.

"Well I know my dad will be happy if it is dropped off as bait for Technus to find it first. He has a personal vendetta against Technus after Technus sabotaged an ecto foamer of my dad's and had it to shoot paint balls of red paint instead of ecto suppressant." Danny said. Vlad had to stifle a chuckle at the comment. It reminded him of a similar prank he pulled on Jack one time during their 'intense arguments'.

"Also with the risk we have a ace up our sleeve; if by some miracle the unit is able to be used in a manner we didn't anticipate we can hit an off switch and the entire system is useless. This is because the unit is basically an empty shell. All the keyboard does is read when the creature's field is strongest on any one key and then that keystroke is transmitted to us. We then transmit the keystroke back to the unit and it appears on the screen. But if it types something like "Delete Hard drive file X", we can omit a letter so it can't use it to send dangerous commands to our computer." Carolyn explained.

"So you can make the 'D' in 'Delete' to disappear?" Danny asked Carolyn. Carolyn nodded and he was starting to feel more confident about the plan.

"OK, so you're saying it's not really a computer, just a screen that receives what you send it while fooling everyone else. What if the battery is removed from the unit?" Nathan asked. Now it was his turn to offer challenges to the plan, but only to make sure all bases were covered so it could succeed.

"There's a hidden backup battery that is embedded as part of the unit. If the main battery is removed a message will appear on the screen that the battery is removed and needs to be reinstalled into the unit. " Carolyn replied. She was thorough and tried to anticipate every situation that might arise.

"I'm sorry Aunt Carolyn if I'm asking a lot of questions, but I need to be convinced this will work. How will you detect if the creature is near the unit?" Danny asked not wanting to leave any stone unturned.

"It has a specific trigger to activate when it senses the field of the creature. Boy you do love to ask a lot of questions. I think I'll let Vlad take over and I'll go make some dinner." Carolyn replied with a smirk as she excused herself to the kitchen. She was glad however that Danny was being thorough. She wanted to be certain as much as Vlad that this plan was solid.

"Well Badger, it looks like my mom and dad have pretty much covered all bases." Nathan remarked proudly. He was convinced the idea was sound and hoped that Danny was also convinced. Danny had more recent negative experiences with plans backfiring since he was less experienced than the Masters' family in ghost hunting as well as being half-ghost himself. Nathan smirked when he saw Danny wanting to ask another question but feeling hesitant.

"Don't worry Danny, you can't ask too many questions...I think." Nathan said with a bit of jesting in his voice. He couldn't believe how many questions Danny was asking and suspected he was more than just a little concerned with the keyboard.

"Suppose Technus breaks the unit and finds out there's no computer brain inside?" Danny asked suspecting the gig would be up if Technus or the creature discovered the inside of the keyboard would be basically hollow except for the transmitting circuits.

"I'm glad you asked Daniel. There are actual parts that make up a computer placed inside the keyboard, but they do not in any way function with the actual interface but are only made to appear that they do." Vlad explained. He began to have one of those 'Really Daniel?' looks on his face. He hadn't remembered being this grilled since the investigation into how he won the election as mayor.

"I hope this works Fruitloop. This creature is very clever and hopefully you haven't overlooked anything." Danny added eying Vlad with a questioning look.

"Honestly Daniel, you're more worried than Carolyn and she ran a ton of scenarios by me. Perhaps you would feel better if you could try to sabotage the keyboard yourself before we send it on in." Vlad challenged Danny with a smirk. He had hoped all the points made in the discussion of the safeguards used in the unit was enough to convince Danny that this plan to track the creature was a fool proof one.

"OK Vlad, you convinced me. When are we delivering the unit to our recipient?" Danny asked feeling rather tired himself from all the questions he asked.

"It'll have to be this weekend Daniel." Vlad answered dryly. He knew he would get backlash from Danny as the weekend was his time to spend with his friends and family.

"You gotta be kidding me! That's the only time that Sam and Tucker and I can get together and hang at the arcade, plus I like to see my folks then as well." Danny protested. Vlad scratched an eyebrow and sighed.

"You've already missed enough school and if something goes wrong I don't want to have to call Mr. Lancer to say you're out sick. This isn't like when we were traveling to see Clockwork, it's only a basic drop and leave the bait." Vlad explained not wishing to have to do much more discussion on the subject. He was growing tired of the conversation and it seemed there was no pleasing Danny.

"Relax Badger, I'll be with you and together we can make this a quick drop and wait operation." Nathan said trying to allay Danny's fears.

"All the more reason to do this on a school night. How hard can it be?" Danny challenged. He was truly talented for turning around arguments to his advantage. Again, it helped hanging around Nathan and Vlad who also were very skilled in the art of debate. Carolyn also was skillful in debates but was more withdrawing in some more heated discussions involving Vlad, Danny and Nathan. She knew it better to let the men wear themselves out first and that made her job of persuasion that much easier.

"Daniel, your teacher Mr. Lancer just got doused with the nastiest lake in all of Amity if not the entire US. Just how reasonable do you think he will be if something goes wrong and you miss another school day?" Vlad questioned with a raised eyebrow. Danny knew that Lancer was already uptight after the foaming incident caused by his dad months ago at Casper and finally relented after some thought.

"OK Vlad, you win! Can I take look at this thing?" Danny asked and Vlad smiled and disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared holding a keyboard that was huge, at 3 feet by 2 ½ feet. Each key was 2 inches square with some extra keys for select words such as I, you, place, help and other basic words. Danny's jaw dropped and Nathan chuckled.

"You think it's big enough?" Nathan asked his dad with a smirk.

"Yes Little Lemur, it is. You have to realize our creature has small fins, not fingers like you and I." Vlad replied as Danny walked up and pressed a key. When he hit the 'J' key a voice came on that said the letter 'J'." He then typed the words on the keyboard 'Please help me.' He chuckled.

"Dad, do you have to keep calling me Little Lemur?" Nathan complained. Danny did a double take at Nathan.

"I've had to endure being called 'Little Badger' for the last couple of years. I think 'Little Badger' is far worse." Danny remarked to Nathan. He knew Nathan wasn't teased with a label nearly as much as Danny, probably because Vlad could get a rise out of Danny much easier than Nathan.

"Well anyway, getting back to this keyboard, it's quite impressive." Nathan added looking at the huge keys.

"It's not only programmed with complete words but can read letters that make up words and pressing the enter button will play back whole sentences. Hopefully it will learn what our language sounds like." Vlad explained.

"But it spoke in our dreams and through the AI in complete sentences. Shouldn't it already know what our language sounds like?" Nathan asked.

"Not necessarily. It knows the written word and can tell a holographic AI what to say, but to actually hear what those letters mean and help it to better understand our language is important if we hope to find a way to reason with it when it first is captured." Vlad explained. Though it seems to have learned the human language through pictures and sounds Vlad suspected the creature might not have a real grasp on the language it was speaking. It's mind might actually be more primal despite it's appearing to grasp English.

"You forgot to add Fruitloop to the vocabulary." Danny smirked.

"As much as you have tried to brand both my persona in the human and ghost world with that name Daniel, I highly doubt it may be familiar with me as 'Fruitloop.'" Vlad said with a grin.

"I still think we're taking a chance waiting till the weekend to deliver this." Danny said thinking more on the plan.

"You seriously want to risk Lancer's wrath? You just now getting on the top of the A list in the class. It isn't worth rocking the boat and we also shouldn't rush into this too quick." Nathan reminded Danny.

"This creature may have interfered with our lives but we do not have to allow that to be the norm. It's true it might attack again before we do what we plan this weekend but that is a chance we'll have to take." Vlad said matter of factly. He knew that Danny had worked too hard to get on the A list only to have a setback.

"Well, I guess we better prepare ourselves for whatever may come next. Let's go to the training room Badger." Nathan suggested and Danny nodded as they transformed into their ghost selves and flew to mansion's rec room. The rec room had been converted to a miniature version of the training room back at Vlad's castle. Not nearly as powerful or robust but Vlad couldn't risk it since the mansion was the property of the city and training was limited to holographic images that had ecto zapping properties designed only to affect Danny and Nathan.

The rec room which had been converted into the makeshift training room was a decent size, like that of a small ballroom. Danny and Nathan both knew they were forbidden to use any full strength ghost powers for fear of causing damage to the actual room. As the training began they were faced with energy holo balls. The balls would inflict no damage on anything physical but was able to zap Danny or Nathan if either of them were hit with them. What the training room lacked in physical challenges it made up for in strategy with random attack patterns and numbers of holo balls thrown at a given training subject.

"Training Simulation Level 5: Random Ball Attack." Announced the computer voice. Even though the challenge was more difficult, both Danny and Nathan felt rather bored with the simulation as they were able to dodge the holo balls with ease and zapped them with their powers. Finally Nathan had enough.

"Simulator, pause game." Nathan said and he looked at Danny.

"Why did you do that?" Danny asked looking surprised.

"Why don't we just skip to the hardest level and see how we do?" Nathan suggested with a mischievous glint in his eye. He was bored with the ease of the current training level and didn't feel like working his way up to the more difficult challenge training.

"Look Nathan, I know it's not like the training at the Wisconsin Castle, but Vlad cautioned against skipping through the training simulation." Danny said. He agreed with Nathan that the current level was painfully boring but he dreaded dealing with Vlad's 'I told you so' attitude if Vlad discovered they'd skipped the lessons and got clobbered by the simulation as a result.

"Dad is way too obsessive compulsive about these simulations. You saw how easy it is. I say we skip to the harder stuff since this isn't nearly as challenging as the training programs at the castle." Nathan pointed out. Danny could hardly argue with him. Compared to the intense training workout at the Wisconsin Castle, the current level was a weak imitation. Danny finally relented.

"OK, Nathan. But don't say I didn't warn you." Danny cautioned. He suspected the hardest level would still be a bit much for even Nathan despite having more experience than Danny. Nathan at times tended to be overconfident like his father Vlad. Nathan smiled as he turned to the computer.

"Simulator, advance to Castle Chaos." Nathan requested. Danny looked stunned at Nathan.

"Dude, Castle Chaos is one of the toughest simulations Vlad has ever developed. Are you sure about this?" Danny asked secretly hoping Nathan would reconsider.

"How can you expect to soar with eagles when you're stuck with the chickens?" Nathan replied with a smirk.

"Warning! You have not trained up to that current level." The computer voice cautioned.

"I accept the risks." Nathan replied defiantly and there was a momentary pause by the computer.

"Understood. Castle Chaos will now commence in 3 minutes." The computer voice replied and the holo balls all disappeared as the new program prepared to load.

"3 minutes?! I could go get a snack." Danny laughed.

"Relax Badger, it'll be worth the wait. I think dad programmed this feature to take a bit longer than normal to give whoever chose to skip levels time to reconsider doing so. But it wont work on me. I can wait patiently." Nathan chuckled as he flexed his arm muscles and wiggled loosening up his legs preparing for the level to commence. Danny however was not so patient.

"Simulator, how much time has passed?" Danny asked feeling fidgety.

"20 seconds." The computer voice replied. Danny rolled his eyes up and groaned.

"Badger, I would hate to see you at the DMV." Nathan chuckled. In another year Danny could actually apply for his driver's permit, however after flying on one's own power in ghost form Nathan imagined it would be difficult for Danny to settle for a motor vehicle.

"I seriously don't like having to wait until I become a grandpa. I wish I had brought my phone so I could at least do some text or play some games." Danny complained feeling fairly annoyed at the delay.

"Better stay on your toes Badger, the 3 minutes will come faster than you think." Nathan grinned as he practiced creating small pink orbs in his hands and then shaking his hands causing the small spheres to disappear.

"What do you think Castle Chaos will be like?" Danny asked to pass the time. To him the 3 minute wait felt like an eternity.

"Dad is all about the dramatics. He never does anything half way. Just when you think you've figured out what is next move his, he surprises you with an 'out of the blue' move." Nathan replied as he compared Vlad's training programs to how Vlad played chess; always changing the strategy to confuse the opponent.

"It must be kind a weird having a dad who's also a chess master, billionaire mayor and super mutant half-ghost." Danny smirked.

"I've grown up like this all my life. It's completely normal to me as I haven't known anything else. I feel bad for kids who don't have powers and are stuck having to walk everywhere and can never even phase through a door or fly." Nathan responded.

"You know it's weird. I remember seeing a clip from the alternate timeline where Vlad was alone with the powers. He always said the accident ruined his life. How could having such powers ruin anyone's life?" Danny pondered.

"Dad may have felt he was cheated in the previous timeline from well...uh dating your mom. The reality is he was deluded into thinking your mom would've chosen him over Jack. At least now with this new timeline that we only know as our reality does my dad get to see that nothing would've really changed. Of course spending some years in the hospital, maybe he felt he was robbed years of happiness. The reality is people in hospitals have been able to still have social lives and fulfilling goals in spite of setbacks. The problem with my dad is his mindset. He blames everything on everyone but himself due to the car accident and the way he was raised." Nathan said feeling somewhat saddened.

"I think how his dad raised him had the greatest impact, but I also saw a timeline where he actually regretted being the way he was when having to deal with my evil counterpart, Dark Dan." Danny added.

"I've seen my dad make a lot of progress over the years. He used to have full blown Narcissistic Personality Disorder, but now he has become much more empathetic. I really think my mom was the biggest influence for my dad. She put up with a lot of his nonsense but just kept on loving him." Nathan added while he gazed out a window lost in his thoughts.

"I think having someone in your life that means a lot can help lift you out of the darkest of times." Danny reflected and thought about Sam. He knew he would've not been the ghost fighting hero he became without his friends to support him through his transformations.

"I heard my mom was say to him, 'Vladimir James Masters, this accident never ruined your life. It gave you the opportunity to become something more than what you were. Never give anyone or any event the power to say it ruined your hopes. Only you are responsible for your hopes and dreams, no one else." Nathan smiled as he thought about the strength and love his mom possessed to help give his dad the power to heal from all his wounds.

Both of them were shaken out of their thoughts as a cold breeze came down from the ceiling and they both looked at each other feeling slightly spooked. Then, a giant glowing green worm with red eyes and horns all over its back materialized before them and opened its mouth in a blood curdling growl as it began to dive towards them.

"Wait, wasn't the computer suppose to announce the level first?!" Danny said nervously as he leapt out of the way when the worm bolted past him just barely missing him.

"It's suppose to, but then it is the hardest level!" Nathan said as he jumped sideways narrowly missing being hit as the worm came uncomfortably close to him.

The glowing giant worm hologram flew up to the ceiling and then curled its body as it flung itself back down toward Nathan. Nathan fired some ecto shots at it with all the force he could muster. He knew there was a dampening field to weaken his powers while in the room so as to prevent doing any serious damage to the mansion. Danny fired some freeze blasts at the worm and it turned around and began to charge at him. While it did Nathan zapped it from behind and the worm shrieked and shot away momentarily disappearing from sight.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Nathan hollered with a grin. Danny shook his head in disbelief.

"Nathan, you are one seriously crazed-up Fruitloop!" Danny exclaimed as the giant worm reappeared and this time made a run toward Danny.

As the worm curled around toward Danny, Danny aimed directly in its mouth and fired at it. The result was unexpected as suddenly hundreds of miniature versions of the giant worm flew out of the worms mouth and began to form into a circular spinning swarm.

"Badger what did you do?!" Nathan asked as the swarm circled the ceiling for a few moments before zooming down to where Danny and Nathan stood. It reminded Danny of the ghost bees he encountered in the Ghost Zone, then an idea hit him. As the swarm of worms approached he created a giant sphere around the worms to contain them and then shot a green ecto blast directly into the middle of the sphere. The sphere exploded and the larger part of the swarm had disappeared. Then the computer voice came on.

"Welcome to Castle Chaos Expert Level 10." The computer voice finally announced.

"It's about time, what took it so long?" Danny complained as he created another sphere to zap the remaining swarm of worms while zapping the tail of the main giant worm causing it to turn around and then he zapped it again until the worm turned back again and this time charged for Nathan. As it barreled toward him Danny flew to the back tail end and fired at it until Nathan went intangible and leapt through the side wall of the training room and then reappeared on the other side. The worm twirled back around and charged for Danny who then went intangible and then appeared behind the beast firing at it.

"I think it's time to do some duplication. You wanna give it a try?" Nathan asked Danny. He knew Danny had difficulty still with duplication but he decided to give it a try. He concentrated and split himself into four versions of him as each of his copies along with him fired on the worm. Nathan also split into fours and did the same. Finally the creature turned and charged toward Danny with its mouth growling and open fully wide. Both Danny and Nathan continued firing relentlessly at the monster. Then just within a few feet of slamming into him, the the worm finally exploded in holo ectoplasm and then vanished.

"I think we should end the program while we're ahead!" Danny shouted feeling exhausted. Nathan agreed and turned to the computer.

"Simulator, end training." Nathan said half gasping for breath.

"I am sorry, in order to terminate this level before completion you will need Authorization Override 71." The computer voice replied.

"Great! I can't end it unless the computer gets a voice authorization from my dad! Way to go dad!" Nathan shouted sarcastically.

"I don't think we have a choice. That worm attack was way too off the charts and I've fought some pretty crazy ghosts! I think something's wrong with the program." Danny said trying to erase the disgusting yet scary mental images of the swarm that formed in the mouth of the worm after he fired into it. It literally gave him the shivers. Then Nathan had an idea.

"Simulation, I choose to admit defeat. End training." Nathan said hoping to trick the computer into halting the program before completion.

"This will still result in a report generated of incompletion." The computer voice replied without emotion.

"So then my dad will still find out. If he learned that we jumped to the toughest challenge...well you know how dad can be." Nathan said with a frustrated smirk.

"I get it. Don't alert the Fruitloop or he wont let us live it down." Danny smirked. He knew how teasing Vlad could be in any timeline.

"Don't alert me to what?" Vlad said as he appeared in a puff of smoke in the form of Vlad Plasmius. Danny and Nathan eyed each other in panic.

"Simulator, end training and I understand a report will be filed." Nathan huffed reluctantly. Vlad's eyes glowed bright red as he was mildly angry but expected either his son or Danny to try to skip levels.

"Hey Vlad, how's it going?" Danny said trying to sound extra friendly to him to distract from the obvious. It didn't work.

"Don't try to play coy with me Daniel. I know that the training level you and Nathan were doing was far too advanced for you and you skipped levels." Vlad said looking at them both sternly.

"It was my idea dad, don't blame Badger. He tried to talk me out of it." Nathan defended. He looked embarrassed and just waited to hear angry word tirade from his dad, but it never came.

"May I ask Nathan, why you chose to skip to the most difficult level?" Vlad asked looking more mildly curious than annoyed.

"It's just the current level was so boring. I'm used to fighting much tougher challenges in the Ghost Zone." Nathan complained. Vlad shook his head.

"Son, you know the reason why the challenges are set up the way they are? If you skip around you miss the most important point of the training." Vlad admonished. Nathan looked puzzled.

"What's that?" Nathan asked as his facial expression remained confused.

"That even the so called 'easy' challenges have difficult moments in them." Vlad replied and Nathan looked away for a moment in thought.

"How can such basic holographic dodge ball program be anything close to being difficult?" Danny joined in, also perplexed.

"Because the mundane ghosts we fight are far more likely to trip us up than the tougher ones, simply because that they are so easy we may be tempted to let our guard down. Remember the Box Ghost and how it tricked you Daniel?" Vlad asked. Danny rolled his eyes shut recalling the event and cringed at the recollection.

"The Box Ghost..." Danny shook his head as he trailed off. Most of the time Danny could fight off the Box Ghost with practically both hands tied behind his back.

"He said his usual mantra of 'I am the Box Ghost!' and you were no doubt half daydreaming about what to order at the Nasty Burger." Vlad added with a small grin.

"How was I to know the Box Ghost had forged some secret temporary alliance with Skulker?" Danny defended. He felt awkward having to relive the embarrassing events of that day.

"That's my point. You didn't noticed Skulker sneaking up behind you and as a result he caught you with his net." Vlad recounted. Nathan formed a small grin upon hearing about it. He never knew about this fiasco Danny endured until now and was mildly amused.

"So Badger, you were 'Catch of the Day' for Skulker because Box Ghost pulled a fast one on you ?" Nathan asked fighting hard to stifle a chuckle.

"I'll have you know I still managed to beat Skulker." Danny defended as he felt his cheeks heating up a slight tinge of red.

"This may be an embarrassing reminder to you Daniel but I do this to make a point. DO. NOT. UNDERESTIMATE. ANY. GHOST!" Vlad responded sternly and then he turned to Nathan who busted out in a laugh.

"You were tricked by the Box Ghost! How is that even possible." Nathan chuckled. Danny was not amused.

"I'm not finished!" Vlad spat as he then glared at his son Nathan. Nathan looked worried and became very subdued.

"You are like Daniel's older brother. I expect you to be his example. You are his trainer after all and skipping to a higher level without working to that level defeats the purpose of the program." Vlad rebuked Nathan. Nathan looked downcast at the scolding. He could see the disappointment in his dad's eyes and he hated feeling like he let his dad down.

"I-I'm sorry dad." Was all that Nathan could say looking defeated. Vlad saw his son was feeling hurt having done the deed and Vlad walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder.

"You remind me so much of me when I was younger. Always trying to impress my dad sometimes being impulsive." Vlad said to Nathan. Nathan looked down but an ever so slight grin started at either corner of his lips as he looked up.

"What did you ever do that was impulsive?" Nathan asked. Danny leaned in to hear this interesting tidbit of information.

"I tried to beat the computer at chess when I was a kid. No matter how good I was it always found a weakness, so I programmed it to warn its strategies to me ahead of time. I was too impatient to learn all the strategies through trial and error. Needless to say my dad was very upset with me for tampering with the program and I was grounded for a month." Vlad recalled. Danny's face reflected mild amusement.

"It was my fault Vlad. I should've talked him out of it." Danny said not wanting Nathan to keep taking most of the blame.

"So you are agreeing to share the punishment equally with Nathan, Daniel?" Vlad asked and Danny's face morphed into that of real worry. He gulped. He knew Vlad could be stern. It was in still his personality despite the alternate timeline of being no longer a bitter single bachelor.

"I-I guess." Danny said feeling himself start to sweat. The suspense was killing him.

"The punishment for both of you is simple: since you feel the current levels are too easy I will put some additional surprises in the beginning of each level that will add to the challenge while keeping in pace with the level of training." Vlad explained and both of the boys looked puzzled.

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked taking the words out of Danny's mouth.

"You'll see. For the moment we're needed in the living room." Vlad said with a smirk. Vlad was always full of surprises. Both Danny and Nathan were excited for some new challenge in the training but a bit anxious how tough the training would become. They were all shaken out of their thoughts as the computer voice came on again.

"Time limit is approaching in 20 seconds. Please decide whether to pause program or training simulation will continue." The computer voice warned. Vlad raised an eyebrow. Nathan had already told the computer to end the simulation and file a report but it appeared to glitching.

"Simulator, end all training." Vlad commanded to the computer.

"Training is concluded." The computer voice replied but began to slow down it's speech at the end of the sentence. They all looked at each other as they exited.

"I guess I'll have to do a diagnostic later on the computer. It sounds like it might need a system upgrade." Vlad said as they approached the living room. The lights dimmed for a moment and then a low growl like that of a tiger was heard out of the training room.

"I thought you halted the training program. Did you hear the growl?" Danny commented looking a bit puzzled.

"It was suppose to shut down...oh butter biscuits!" Vlad snorted as he saw lights flickering inside the training room along with a reddish glowing hue shining from under the door. Vlad walked briskly back over to the training room throwing a shield over him. Danny and Nathan watched in the distance as he walked up to the door and everything suddenly became silent and all the lights in the training room shut off.

"This computer is definitely going to need an upgrade." He said to himself as he slowly turned the knob and looked inside. Everything was normal and he looked on the computer screen that handled the simulations and noticed the screen was still on, the cursor blinking.

"Guess I'll have to do a manual shutdown." Vlad thought internally as he walked over to the terminal and temporarily lowered his ghost shield as he typed the shutdown command. Nothing happened and the computer screen cursor just kept blinking.

"Sugar cookies!" He said as he reached over and held the button to the keyboard waiting to force the computer to turn off. As he held down his index finger the key started to feel hot and then he flung his hand away as a small electrical arc shot up from the power off key. Vlad quickly raised his ghost shield again and heard the training room door click and lock on its own. Vlad ran over and tried to open the door but the doorknob appeared to jam and he realized the emergency external lock was engaged keeping the door locked tight.

"Vlad? Are you OK?" Nathan hollered as he ran up to the door and tried to turn it but it wouldn't budge. Vlad tried to sound reassuring.

"Relax son I'm fine, just having some technical troubles with the blasted safety protocols of the rec room." Vlad replied annoyed as he prepared to phase through the door. When he made the attempt he felt a slight jolt and was unable to phase through. He looked closer and saw a light green force field was in place around the room. He shot his ecto energy point blank at the door but it was deflected. He took out a gold pocket watch he kept and swung it against the glass window on the door of the training room but the force field was set to repel all objects instead of just ghost energy and a small arc shot at the watch as it flung inches from the window before flying out of Vlad's hand. He looked at the glass and not even a scratch showed.

"Nathan, I'm going to need you to shut down the power!" Vlad hollered. But before Danny could react he was already grabbing the door handle before Vlad could warn him and tried to pull open the door before a bolt of electricity zapped him and threw him on the ground.

"Ye-ow!" Danny said as he rubbed his shoulder. His pride was hurt more than his body as he shot an angry look at the doorknob.

"For a training room that originally doubles as a safe room, it doesn't seem that safe!" Danny complained.

"I tried to warn you Little Badger. The computer is malfunctioning and wont even let me shut it down." Vlad complained. He had suspicions that the creature might be behind the problem. He couldn't envision any scenario where the computer would glitch to suddenly zap him without any warning or major power surge although he guessed the notion wasn't impossible.

"Let's shut the power of!" Danny replied as he flew toward the washer room but Nathan flew faster and already arrived where the breaker box was. Danny saw Nathan looking oddly at the box and turned looking at Danny. As Danny squinted his eyes he discovered a light bluish glow like that at the Wisconsin Castle's breaker box surrounding the unit.

"Nathan wait!" Danny hollered and Nathan shot a look over to him not noticing the glow as he reached for the lid to lift the breaker box when he was hit with a sudden bolt of electricity and flew across the room. Fortunately he instinctively formed a shield around himself and bounced off the wall instead of crashing into it.

"I'm OK Badger. The breaker box must be guarded with some shield. We can try shutting the power down with ecto blasts but I think your freezing powers will be safer when dealing with this." Nathan suggested.

"I'm on it! Danny answered as he began to fire ice blasts at the breaker. A ball of ice formed around the outside of the box but he was unable to penetrate to reach the actual breakers themselves.

"Go get Carolyn! I saw her walking out the back door and don't forget to transform before going outside." Nathan reminded Danny as Danny transformed into his human self and shot out the back door and looked around frantically for Carolyn. He then spotted her talking to a protester.

"Aunt Carolyn! We need you! It's urgent!" Danny cried and Carolyn turned around and ran toward him. She internally wished she could transform into Carolyn Plasmius but there were too many people outside so she dared not chance it. As she ran in before Danny could say anything the microwave in the kitchen began to flash on and off erratically. The tops of all the stove elements on the range began to glow as if they had all been turned up to a high heat. Then the dishwasher door flew open and water shot out in streams.

"Vlad is trapped in the training room! The door is jammed and the room has some kind of forcefield around it, Nathan can't turn off the breaker as it zapped him and now the whole house is going crazy!" Danny shouted. Carolyn ran toward Nathan to see if he was alright when she saw him staggering out a bit dazed. She ran up to him and felt his forehead.

"Are you alright baby?" She asked. Nathan blinked his eyes to refocus.

"I'm fine, but dad isn't. That crazy safe room has him locked in there." Nathan said half out of breath.

"I can't believe it! This house is nuts!" Carolyn exclaimed as she saw everything going on while she transformed into her ghost self.

"What have you two tried so far?" Carolyn asked trying to stay calm.

"I tried zapping the breaker with ghost powers to shut down everything but instead of reaching the breaker box all my ice is just forming a bowl of ice crystals around the outside of the breaker." Danny said trying to stay calm but his hands were cold with sweat. Carolyn looked around the room and an idea hit her.

"Stand back and put up your ghost shields and Danny, aim your ice powers on a wall socket." She instructed and Danny immediately aimed at the closest socket a few feet from him and zapped ice blasts at it covering it in ice and a blue spark shot out of it and all the power went out. A second later the safety latch to the training room clicked open and the door swung slightly ajar. Vlad floated out looking dazed but other than that OK. Carolyn ran toward him and hugged him.

"Baby, you OK?" She asked as she looked at him. Vlad's shadows under his eyes looked a little deeper with stress but he tried to shake it off.

"I guess we need a new computer for the training room." He said dryly and then looked at the spill of water on the floor in the kitchen and the door to the dishwasher half open. Then Vlad felt his phone vibrate with a text alert and he pulled it out of his pocket to look at it.

"This is odd." He commented as he looked at numerous letters forming into scrambled nonsense and then as he kept looking, words began to form across his phone screen. Carolyn was looking at him as she saw his facial expression become deepened with concern. She wanted to ask what he was reading but knew better not to disturb him while he tried to focus on the message. Finally, sensible words formed across the phone screen.

"Who fired the portal blast that injured you? Give me a name." The text message read mysteriously. The sender was just a gibberish combination of numbers and letters. Vlad knew attack must've definitely been caused by the creature and now it was trying to contact him through a text message. He didn't dare reveal anything to this being.

"I don't know." He text back in the reply. At this moment he felt the less he said the better. He didn't know enough about this being to even understand what he was dealing with and that made the creature even far more dangerous.

"You must know!" Came the text reply. Vlad could feel sweat on his forehead and he thought carefully what he would say next. If he kept playing dumb he suspected the creature would think Vlad was trying to protect the identities of those it felt were responsible for killing its race. He needed to buy time.

"I can find out." Vlad text back trying to fool the creature into thinking he was trying to help it. He didn't know what else to do and needed time to formulate a plan. After he sent the text there was no further reply. Vlad slowly put his phone back in his pocket.

"What's the matter?" Carolyn asked as she looked at Vlad.

"I'll get to that in a minute. We first we need to address what went wrong with the computer as well as the other electronic appliances and decide the best course of action." Vlad advised as he put the phone away pondering the more urgent matters at hand.

"How the heck did this creature get through our ghost shield. I mean, the mansion has a ghost shield also doesn't it? Nathan asked.

"Yes it does but apparently it has found a way to get past the shield possibly traveling in the wires themselves to bypass it. At the very least before I reset the breaker, we should unplug all appliances that aren't currently in use. The training room will have to remain off line for some time until our threat is neutralized somehow." Vlad instructed as he scanned around the room and pondered what to do next.

"Does this mean the TV has to stay off as well?" Danny asked. He dreaded not being able to watch any shows and Vlad raised an eyebrow noting his concern. Before he answered Carolyn looked at him with pleading eyes.

"We can't have all the power off all the time and we need to see the news to see what's happening." Carolyn suggested. Vlad sighed.

"On another note, I don't think we can afford to wait till the weekend to drop the 'bait' off in the Ghost Zone." Danny said with concern. There was just too much happening and the creature was becoming increasingly threatening in its method of attack.

"It looks like you are right Little Badger. It appears our opponent is most formidable even though currently limited in what it can do. The longer we wait, the more time it has to learn other strategies it can use against us." Vlad sighed as he deliberated his next move. He then looked over to Danny.

"There is something more concerning that I also have to share. It has to do with the text messages I received just a few moments ago. It appears our creature has now managed to communicate with the cell phones." Vlad said somberly as he pulled out his phone and shared the text with Carolyn.

"What did it say?" Danny asked. Somehow he suspected this had to do with his parents by the way Vlad was looking at him.

"The creature demanded the name of whoever fired the portal blast those years ago. It continues to think the blast was intentional." Vlad lifted his eyes to the ceiling as if praying. He thought upon the day Jack foolishly fired up the portal when Maddie warned him not too. Even if the timeline hadn't been altered and he was forced to experience the years of hospitalization, that paled in comparison to the threatening demeanor of the creature. Vlad knew the feeling of revenge run in his blood all his life. He knew how he despised the carelessness of the truck driver that fell asleep at the wheel the day he lost his dad and sister. He knew the brooding he would feel when his mom and him lost their home to an unscrupulous business partner of his father. The fiery burning desire this creature displayed to want to avenge its kind shook Vlad to his core.

"What did you tell it?" Danny asked nervously looking at Vlad. He wasn't prepared to accept what he was about to hear.

"I tried to buy time till I could figure something out, so I'll basically lied and told the creature in so many words that I would find out who shot the portal blast." Vlad replied. He knew Danny was going to react badly to this no matter how much he tried to explain it to him.

"You told it you would find out?! Danny shot a glance angrily at Vlad as his voice went hoarse. He was livid and felt betrayed by Vlad's statement. Vlad took a breath and tried to explain himself.

"Relax Daniel, didn't you listen to what I said. I told you before that I said I lied to the creature. I have no intention of telling it anything, but I need it to think that I will till we can find a way to successfully stop it from what it's doing, hopefully in our latest efforts to locate the creature and capture it." Vlad said almost pleadingly. He knew how often Danny would take things he said the wrong way. They had a history and it wasn't always red roses.

"Danny?" Carolyn asked but Danny was focusing his attention to Vlad. He wasn't buying what Vlad said and was growing angrier by the minute.

"How could you Fruitloop!" You were only in the hospital for several days, you found the love of your life! You basically married someone just like my mom from another reality. All this...and you still are one seriously crazed up Fruitloop!" Danny growled fighting back tears from his eyes. Vlad was angry that he couldn't convince Danny but for a moment his mind flashed back to when he was also angry with his dad when he suspected his dad's business partner was crooked.

-Flashback-

I don't trust him dad! I think he'll wait till something happens to you and he'll kick me and mom out of our house by stealing the business! I don't understand how you can't see this!" A young Vlad said to his father. He had a feeling in his gut. He couldn't explain it but he saw the signs. The smooth talking suave way his dad's business partner behaved. Always showering his dad with compliments and then a scowl appear on the man's face when his dad's back is turned.

"The matter is irrelevant son, I trust him and this conversation is over." Vlad's father said sternly. Those words would haunt Vlad for the rest of his days even years later after he got even with the man who stole his dad's business and overshadowed him to sign over the company he bought with his dad's money. If only his father had listened to him that day. That was the same fateful day after Vlad confronted his dad a call came from the school to pick up Vlad's sister Annie as she missed the bus. It was the last day he would see his dad and sister alive. If only his dad had waited a few minutes longer and listened, then he would've never encountered the drunk driver that ended his life and the life of Vlad's sister. The moment burned heavily in the recesses of Vlad's mind.

-End Flashback-

Danny was still livid and refusing to listen to Vlad. It was as if Danny was is in a whole other reality. One in which he and Vlad were mortal enemies. His fists clenched tighter and his face reddened all the more.

"Badger, it's not what you think. This is how my dad works." Nathan said to Danny trying to calm him down. Danny wouldn't have it.

"Don't you 'badger' me!" Danny spat back. Danny didn't grow up in a family where subterfuge and deceptive strategy was used to beat an opponent. Such a strategy was foreign to him. Despite Vlad having explained himself, Danny remembered watching clips form the former timeline where Vlad had tried to kill his father and marry his mother. While that timeline was changed, Danny had to face the current Vlad who once tried to humiliate his dad when he suspected Jack of stealing his ideas for new ghost fighting inventions. Carolyn saw the distress on Danny's face and had to say something. She walked up to him and made eye contact.

"Danny?" Carolyn looked at Danny. He looked at her with pained eyes. He didn't cast Carolyn in the same light as Vlad as she had always been the more reasonable one for the most part.

"Yes..." Danny answered trailing as he kept looking back at Vlad with accusing eyes.

"Vlad could've easily told the creature the name of the person firing the portal was your father, but he didn't do that. He kept your dad safe from the creature finding him out. Now why do you think that Vlad would go to so much trouble to keep your dad's identity safe only to betray him later?" Carolyn asked him. She needed Danny to see for himself what Vlad was doing and why he did it.

"I dunno, I guess I believe Vlad is trying to trick the creature so it wouldn't think Vlad was holding out information." Danny guessed.

"Why do you suppose Vlad didn't simply tell the creature something like 'I know who did it but I will never tell you.' Why do you think Vlad answered in a way that mislead the creature?" Carolyn was hoping to force Danny to see for himself how Vlad worked and truly understand that Vlad wasn't trying to hurt his dad.

"B-because he needed to throw the being off track so it wouldn't think that Vlad was actually protecting my dad by purposely keeping his name a secret." Danny replied. Carolyn smiled at him. Danny had just restated in so many words what Vlad had said. His facial expression of accusation was replaced with cautious understanding. Danny didn't always agree with Vlad's methods, but he understood the reasoning behind what he did.

"Daniel and Nathaniel, let's get this keyboard ready to be delivered. It should be dropped off by Technus' lair and this needs to be done tonight." Vlad said looking intently at everyone. He knew even with the clearing of the air regarding what he said to the creature, that there would still be some trust issues between him and Danny. Right now it was most important to keep focus of the task at hand. There had to be a way to track, capture and stop the creature. This keyboard was the ultimate and probably only hope the family had to achieving that goal.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 Message in a Keyboard

**Klaatu: This will be an especially important chapter as a trap will be set using the unit (keyboard and screen) described in the previous chapter as a lure to hopefully locate and capture the creature. As you may have no doubt guessed, Carolyn is particularly interested in trying to make peace with the creature. The reason for this is she is especially empathetic to it since it like her is believed to have originated from another reality as well as the ancient past.**

**As always, there will be some unexpected turns in this chapter. I can't say any more or I'll give the story away. As always, enjoy and review. **

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Checkmate or Endgame.

Danny's POV

I wanted to call Sam and Tucker and although Vlad advised me not to, he left the door open by saying that if I truly wanted to call them, I was responsible for convincing them them not to join in our little delivery. I felt torn and needed to talk to someone. Nathan was a good listener but could be very hard headed at times like his father. Maybe it was time to see what pearls of wisdom Carolyn had to offer. I spotted Carolyn in the rec room and doing push ups of all things!

"Aunt Carolyn, why are you doing push ups? Shouldn't you be helping with supplies" I asked trying to suppress a chuckle. I had never seen Carolyn exercise. I thought she naturally stayed thin and in shape except for that onetime last month when she said she splurged on some Fenton fudge.

"I did all the packing that needed to be done. Nathan is doing a last minute double check for me, but I need to do this as I put on some unwanted pounds last month." She replied as she increased the speed of her push ups.

"But you look in shape now." I replied. I so did not understand adults and their obsession with weight loss.

"Yes and in order to keep it off I promised Vlad I would do a daily morning routine in lieu of having to go to the gym." She added between exhausted breaths as she switched and began doing leg lunges.

"Do you always do what Vlad says?" I asked. I knew I was starting to sound like Sam or Tucker about now.

"Why don't you ask me the more serious question? The one you've been dying to ask since you first met Vlad and me." Carolyn replied with a smirk. Carolyn was very insightful and could tell that I often viewed her marriage to Vlad as something that didn't make any sense. She was headstrong yet didn't mind putting up with Vlad's tendency to be controlling and manipulative.

"OK. I need to know what is it you saw in Vlad? He can be such a seriously crazed up fruitloop at times and yet you still wound up getting married to him." I felt good after having gotten this question out in the open. I hope I wasn't becoming annoying to Carolyn or worse yet, hurting her feelings.

"Sweetie, you may not realize this but I was at times quite a fruitloop in my day. I was at one time dappling in things I should've left alone." Carolyn confessed. Whoa...Carolyn a fruitloop? I could never imagine her like this.

"What do you mean 'dappling in things'?" I asked her. This had now become the million dollar question.

"Back on the other Earth I came from I was with a group of scientists that uncovered an ancient device that was rumored by the inhabitants of an ancient Sumerian town to have unusual powers. We were curious and tested it on a small hill that was zoned to be removed by the city. We got permits and everything was legit. We believed we had everything in control...or so we thought. We read a script that referred to the artifact which spoke of a crystal that was its power source. We found the crystal later on and placed it inside of the artifact. It began to glow as we aimed it toward the hill and the hill began to crumble all of the sudden and boulders came down toward us, narrowly missing us." Carolyn said with a haunted look in her eyes.

"You didn't know that would happen, that wouldn't qualify you as fruitloop." I defended. I could not understand why Carolyn was being so hard on herself.

"But we suspected it might happen. We were irresponsible. No one got hurt fortunately but we decided to remove the crystal and have the artifact remain in locked storage. We didn't understand what we were dealing with or how it worked, which made it all the more dangerous." Carolyn said back almost sounding angry. Why did this upset her so? Was there something more she wasn't telling me?

"I don't understand. An experiment went wrong. I know all about unintended consequences of these things just like you. My dad did not intend me to mutate into a half-ghost." I tried to reason with her and get her to see sense. She only became more adamant and confessed something I wasn't prepared to hear.

"My husband when he was alive back then was working on a court case. It was impacting his life and then the attorney was late. I was so angry that in a fit of rage I cursed some mountains to fall. I immediately came to my senses realizing what a horrible thing to wish and prayed that it wouldn't happen. I thought my prayers were enough but my anger still inside me made them of none effect. Two weeks later after meeting with a new attorney, not two hours later we experienced a terrific quake. The college survived but sadly there were casualties." Carolyn's voice began to tremble as I saw tears forming in her eyes.

"It was a coincidence Aunt Carolyn! You can't blame yourself for that. You were angry in a moment but then you were sorry. You said so yourself that you didn't want anything bad to happen." I replied trying to comfort her. No wonder she thought she was a fruitloop. What an awful burden to bear thinking she was somehow responsible for the quake.

"Except that everyone that had been exposed to the artifact had similar strange experiences happen to them. One scientist said he was annoyed by a noisy street lamp. He looked angrily at the lamp wishing it would stop being noisy and suddenly the bulb burnt out. Another scientist spoke of having a rat infestation at his house and the rats began to drop like flies without any poison. We all suspected the artifact may have affected us somehow. Fortunately the effects of it wore off to a degree but I never forgot everything that happened from tampering with it." She trailed off. I could see she wanting to blame herself but I needed her to know she was overreacting.

"Yeah but Vlad did some deliberate things he didn't seem sorry for, like stealing Pariah's ring or the Infini Map." I reminded her. At this point she paused in her exercise routine and sat down on the bench and drew a long winded breath.

"Or similar to you stealing Fright Night's sword to get out of detention?" I was not expecting her to go there.

"OK, I was wrong but I returned the sword." I confessed. This conversation had taken a very heavy and unexpected turn. Was Carolyn now implying that I was like Vlad? She couldn't be serious.

"We all do things in a fit of passion without thinking things through. Vlad takes a bit longer to realize when he's messed up but he eventually comes around. The point is I said all that to say that I love Vlad even though he is imperfect, just as I am sometimes imperfect. You wonder why I loved and married Vlad? Because when you really love someone, you love them despite their imperfections." Carolyn explained. I knew imperfections were one thing, but Vlad had done some things that were downright evil even if in another timeline.

"He tried to melt a clone he made that was his daughter, Dani in another timeline! Vlad may seem better in this reality, but he still is Vlad!" I argued. How could she even compare herself or me to be anything close to what Vlad was.

"Except now in this timeline he got the help he needed to develop his empathy. The devastating effects of being injured, developing ghostly powers as well as how he was raised by his father were overwhelming and helped fester his narcissism. If he hadn't met me he would've continued down a very dark, lonely path consumed by bitterness and hate. But my determination and faith has almost been like a energy that has helped him overcome a lot of these traumatic road blocks and helped him level out. I can relate to some of his losses from trials in my own life and although not the same, it helps me reach him. I can even understand one one of his worse weaknesses, resisting the lust of power." Carolyn spoke as she picked up a mirror and began to wipe off some dust on it. I couldn't conceive her implying that she could understand Fruitloop's problem with power.

"What do you mean you can relate to Vlad's power craziness?" I asked not sure if I was ready for an answer.

"To be more specific, I know how much he is drawn by power and I know what it takes to resist that power." Carolyn was getting deep in a conversation that I had somehow forgotten where it started. How we had even got to this point? But I was more curious as to how she had found a way to resist the allure of power. I know I had a problem with Tucker when he got ghost powers and started acting crazy.

"What do you do to keep from being tempted to get more powerful?" I knew Vlad often fell for the allure of gaining power. I suspected it was in part to compensate for the power he felt was taken from his life after the tragic car accident and the injury from the portal accident he was in years later.

"By prayerfully remembering what I was and who I am now. Fasting from my bad habits is a lot tougher but helps a bunch. That's because I also have to fight a sweet tooth as well." Carolyn then replied with a smirk. Only Carolyn could travel from deep emotional confessions then bring it back into a more light hearted moment. Then I decided to ask her another question that hopefully wouldn't become a mini novel of an answer.

"On another note, I want to call Sam and Tucker to tell them about the keyboard drop that we're doing. I know Vlad doesn't want them to come as it is too risky but I feel they should know. They're my friends and if something happens..." I trailed off.

"Nothing is going to happen. At least nothing that hubby and I can't handle. Besides, Nathan grew up with ghost powers so he is probably the most powerful on the team next to Vlad and you. Just let Sam and Tucker know because that's what friends do, keep each other in the loop." Carolyn said as she began to stretch and then transformed into her ghost self.

"Thanks Aunt Carolyn!" I saw her smirk as she flew off and went intangible through the rec room wall. I felt a lot better after talking to her. She seemed to understand me a bit better than Vlad. I guess it's because she and my mom are kindred spirits in a way. Now it was time to call my friends and hope for the best. I crossed my fingers and rang Sam first.

"Hey Danny, what's up?" Sam answered. She sounded extra chipper which was to be expected as she totally clobbered me in an online game of "Angry Trees.'

"Nathan and I are going to do a drop in the Ghost Zone to try to lure the creature to us so we can capture it." I explained.

"You're going to the Ghost Zone? I so have to come!" Sam said excitedly. OK, this might be a bit more difficult than I expected.

"Vlad says it just has to be me and the Masters family because it is really risky." I kept the explanation short and simple. I had hoped Sam would be convinced, but deep down I knew better and guessed she would be probably make a fuss about not coming.

"Come on Danny!" Can't you just convince Vlad that more people can increase the odds of success?" Sam argued.

"Don't you think I already didn't try to convince him?" I asked. Sam knew I would've tried.

"We used to do these things together when it was just us as Team Phantom!" Sam reminded me. She was right and many a time I had missed the good old days except for the bad grades and detention.

"I know you miss it. So do I. But Vlad is worried a lot about the dangers and doesn't want to put anyone else that he calls young and inexperienced to deal with it." I knew they were not that inexperienced but try convincing Vlad. I dreaded to hear the rebuttal to this.

"We've face way many dangerous threats dealing with ghosts if you recall!" Sam retorted. I could feel the anger in her voice rising from the phone. I knew she would be upset but had no idea how defensive in her tone she had become. I felt like my ears were on fire. I needed to do a better job of convincing her.

"Except I have the advantage of innate ghost powers to defend myself. Plus I need to go to the Ghost Zone to recharge my ghost half." I replied. I decided to leave out the part that my ghost powers allow me to heal faster than an ordinary human like her. She knew about this, but it wasn't what she wanted to hear right this minute.

"But we use to go as a team. We use to not bother asking our parents." Sam added. Her voice sounded deflated as she could sense she wouldn't be able to persuade me. I tried to meet her half way in her debate with an olive branch of an offer.

"If you really want to come on these missions, maybe the next mission you could ride in the Specter Speeder with my mom and dad. Of course I'd have to clear it with Fruitloop since his family as well as myself would have to wear Ghost Zone suits seeing as we couldn't change into our ghost halves in front of my mom and dad." I said half jokingly. I knew how much Sam didn't trust my dad's driving and sometimes his talking about ghosts tended to drive my friends up the wall.

"Again, as I've asked before, do you really always have to do things Vlad's way?" Sam said in her usual vocal tone of complaint.

"Yeah, but look at it from another perspective. A ghost fighting super hero who is also a high school dropout won't be seen as much of a hero when it comes to getting a decent job to take care of myself and a future family." I explained to Sam though I hated listening to the reasoning, no matter how much sense it made.

"Were your grades really that bad?" Sam asked and I had to make it plain to her.

"Does having my own personal desk with my name on it in the detention office give you any indication?" I asked her. There was silence for a moment. It really was disturbing that this was true.

"I know Danny. I also get that the ghost fighting has been way easier since sharing responsibilities with Vlad and his family. I just wish there was another way." Sam lamented. I was interrupted by Nathan tapping me on the shoulder.

"Dad wants us to be ready to leave in 10 minutes to head to the Zone." Nathan said. I was puzzled as originally we weren't scheduled to leave for another hour. I wondered what had changed.

"Why so soon?" I asked.

Dad's being dad again. He thinks we might need a head start due to rumors of infighting in the Ghost Zone." Nathan said rolling his eyes up as he turned and grabbed a checklist off a nearby desk. At times Vlad was an obsessive worrier. Although I hated to admit it there were times he was often right to worry.

"I guess I'll grab a snack in case I run into some pesky ghosts. Maybe if I toss them a candy bar they'll be less feisty." I said with a snicker. Nathan grinned to himself at the comment. It would have been funny to think about candy actually taming an angry ghost but from the crazy stuff I've seen in the Ghost Zone, it wouldn't surprise me.

As we said our goodbyes I had to ponder about what Sam said. I wish I could have it both ways. Being a full time hero and an A student. Never having to ask Vlad or the Masters family for help. But despite having super powers, I was still just as human as the rest of my family. I got exhausted and my grades suffered as well as sometimes my ghost fighting began to get sloppier at times than I'd like to remember. I took a breath and prepared to speed dial Tucker but he beat me to it as my phone rang with his caller ID popping up,

"Dude, Sam called me and said you're going into the Ghost Zone. When are you leaving?" Tucker asked with a muffled tone of being a bit annoyed at me.

"I was just told it would be less than 10 minutes from now." I answered. There was a moment of silence.

"Less than 10 minutes?! Danny, you could've called me sooner." Tucker complained.

"It was going to be much later, but Vlad was concerned about some troubles arising in the Ghost Zone so he wants us to get the drop over with. It's probably going to be really boring. All we're doing is dropping off a keyboard and screen to Technus' lair and leaving." I tried to make it sound as boring as possible so Tucker wouldn't feel so bad.

"So who all is going?" Tucker inquired.

"Vlad and Carolyn are going to follow and watch at a distance." I explained, but I could sense Tucker wouldn't rest with that answer.

"It just sounds so weird you having to go with Vlad. This same Vlad who use to have some past crazy villainous moments. Now you're staying with his family and doing this?" Tucker said. When I heard it I could see how nutty it sounded. I had to remind him why I was doing what I was doing.

"I know it sounds crazy, but Vlad is reformed now and his family is helping me taking turns with ghost fighting and training me. Carolyn is making sure Vlad behaves himself and they are going to therapy. I need to get my grades up in school. That's the sum of the matter." I said point blank. I almost choked when mentioning Vlad is reformed however. He still could be manipulative at times but I could tell he was working on himself. All and all I was tired of explaining myself as it seemed I needed my friends to constantly be convinced I knew what I was doing.

"Dude...last year we were fighting him over the Infini Map." Tucker reminded me. He certainly was doing his best to try to have me see the error in what I was doing.

"Yeah, I remember that. I also remember Carolyn swooped in and then there was the 'War of the Roses' Masters style. The argument got so intense they accidentally zapped each other, forgetting that when emotions are high the ghost powers can discharge unintentionally." I recalled as I spoke to Tucker. Carolyn can look just as scary as Vlad when she's angry. It was unreal.

"Then what happened?" Tucker asked.

"They both hugged each other, kissing and making up. And more sparks flew but then they didn't care. I think they've built a tolerance of each others electro ecto energy." As I heard myself say it it sounded crazy but this was how it was with Vlad and Carolyn. Often they would argue, sparks would fly literally and then more sparks flew as they apologized and kissed. This would've gone viral on the Internet to film, but the GIW would ask why two ghosts were in the Mayor's Mansion.

"That's crazy man. I've seen some couples fight but this takes it to a whole new level." Tucker commented. I got what he meant. I also realized how right he was as most of the worst fighting couples didn't have ghost powers which made the arguments even more intense.

"You have no idea." I replied. It was one thing to describe their fights, it was a quite another to actually witness it first hand. One time their fields became so intense the mansion lights began to flicker. I recall at times I could feel the energy prickling against my skin although I was at least twenty feet away from them and they were just discharging on each other.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Tucker said worriedly. He was a good friend to be concerned but when you live with ghost powers, stuff that seems freaky to other people is just the norm for us super mutants.

"I hope this creature takes the bait with all the trouble we're going through to find and capture it." I added. It seemed like this creature was truly elusive and there was a lot of potential for things to go wrong. This mission had to succeed.

"Hey, maybe we can visit each other and see each other on the phone screens. I know it's not as good as being there in person but I can at least see what happens. At least you'll have an extra pair of eyes." Tucker suggested.

"That would be cool, the only problem is the Ghost Zone has lousy cell service. We have to use special ecto communicating wrist bands when we're in there." I explained regretfully. There was just too much interference in that dimension. I noticed Carolyn out of the corner of my eye waving at me. I knew it was close to the time to leave.

"I gotta run. I'll call you when I get back." I promised as we said quick goodbyes and I hung up. Now it was time to prepare for the task at hand. I transformed into ghost and flew over to Carolyn who was already in her ghost form. I heard Nathan scream from the hallway and wondered what was happening now.

"Why do I have to look like this!?" He hollered and I began to fly over to see what was happening when I was him or what I guess was him. Nathan looked like a young version of Vlad as Plasmius! He used to look like me but now he looked like his dad. I watched him flying up reluctantly with the keyboard and screen tucked under his left arm. I could tell he didn't like the way he looked.

"Mom told me this look was expected once I reached 18. I just tried to not think about it. I miss looking like you!" He complained. I could tell he was visibly upset. He knew that Vlad had a reputation for fighting and being a bully with some of the other ghosts in the Ghost Zone. Sometimes it was called for and other times it was Vlad being Vlad.

"It's OK Nathan. It really isn't anything to be embarrassed about." I said. I knew thought the less I said was perhaps the better.

"My hair is a cross between Bozo the Clown and Wolverine. I have glowing red eyes, green glowing skin and fangs. Oh and let's not forget the pointed ears. I think I look like a freaky version of an alien vampire more than a ghost." Nathan confessed.

"Well there is a downside." I said. Nathan looked bruised at my honesty but I was doing some reverse psychology.

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked as his eyes began to glow a brighter red.

"Well, a lot of girls dig the vampire look. I had to endure with my super hearing listening to a lot of girls that go to Caspar wishing they could go on a date with Vlad when he was in his Plasmius form. It was really ridiculous. There must be a lot of Twilight fans out there who dig the vampire look, especially the pointed hair which adds some flair." I said this quietly hoping that Vlad wouldn't hear this. He didn't need any ego boosting with his already towering self importance that had lessened some but was still there.

"Badger, do you think my hair looks better this way?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah. Hey I wasn't always crazy about my hair being white when I transformed. But I got used to it and now I think it's cool." I used to be freaked out seeing myself with white hair and glowing green eyes but now it's just another outfit I wear so to speak. At least it gives me some anonymity so the GIW doesn't arrest me for ghost powers.

"I guess it is a bit crazy. Dad on many previous occasions did warn me that when I get older, I will start to look more like his ghost form. I just tried to forget about it." Nathan said. Then I thought more about the differences between Vlad's look and mine. Even when my older version of myself in an alternate reality became Dark Dan, it was still nothing like Plasmius' outfit, pupiless glowing red eyes and black pointed hair.

"How does that even work? I don't get why when Vlad becomes Plasmius he doesn't just have his outfit reverse color like mine, he gets a wardrobe change into something that looks like a vampire and his hair goes in that crazy hairdo." I asked. I was curious if Nathan knew why Vlad and Carolyn had such a different look.

"My mom has a theory about this she shared with me sometime back. She thinks the traumatic way she and Vlad got their powers reflected in the ecto energy that forms their looks. Ecto energy tends to reflect the emotions it is exposed to; receiving powers in an explosive form mirrored in their clothes and hair design. Mom added an even alternate crazier theory to the list of possibilities." Nathan said with a smirk.

"Let's hear it." I said. This sounded intriguing.

"She believes there may be a secret inter-dimensional clothing store in the Ghost Zone that zaps you with a uniform based on emotion. She thinks the anger she and Vlad first experienced being initially messed up from the explosion earned them the moody vampire look." Nathan chuckled.

"Get outta here!" I said. Nathan had at times a truly crazy sense of humor. I saw Carolyn float up to us.

"Hate to break up the party but we need to head to the Ghost Zone." Carolyn said with a smirk as Vlad floated up and took an interested look at Nathan.

"Trying to be like your old man?" Vlad smiled as he raised an eyebrow.

"You look almost like your dad on our first date. I still thinks his fangs are quite attractive." She said with a smile. Vlad could tell Nathan was getting embarrassed and changed the subject.

"OK family, let's stay focused. We're about to do a very important drop. Daniel, you and Nathaniel will go first into the Ghost Zone and head straight to hyperspace to avoid detection. Once you spot Technus' lair, dive down through the nearest opening back into the Zone and place the unit in front of the door to his lair. Then leave and return to hyperspace till you are near this portal exit. We will be behind you at a short distance but be invisible." Vlad explained. I had a question.

"What should we do if we spot Technus?" I asked.

"I recommend waiting until he goes somewhere or in a worse case scenario, become intangible and aim the keyboard so it will float down to him." Vlad replied. Sounded easy enough. Hopefully it would be.

"And to be clear, Technus' lair is bunches of circuit boards floating around?" Nathan asked.

"Yes son. You wont be able to miss it." Vlad assured.

We all began to walk to the study room where the makeshift portal stood looking like nothing more than a full body size empty wooden art frame until Carolyn flicked a switch and a green swirling mass appeared before us. Nathan and I flew in first and immediately shot upward toward hyperspace. I could sense Vlad and Carolyn behind us but didn't dare turn around as we needed to keep close watch at whatever was ahead of us.

As we soared into hyperspace the Ghost Zone was unusually quiet. I guessed that the fighting Vlad was talking about might be occurring at the other end of the Zone and many of the ghosts were probably there. That would be better for us as it would reduce our risk of being spotted. We continued and as soon I saw the huge circuit board floating in the distance I tapped Nathan on the shoulder. He nodded and we began our descent back into the Ghost Zone. Nathan flew slightly ahead of me and arrived at the front of Technus' lair.

"Well Badger, let's hope this works." Nathan said as he carefully laid the unit so it rested on the circuit board. We looked around and then took off immediately back to hyperspace. I was puzzled as I hadn't seen not even a stray ghost ahead of us as we flew.

"It seems so weird not to spot any stray ghosts at the moment." I commented. It almost seemed kind of creepy. The Ghost Zone was a weird dimension of swirling green clouds and floating displaced objects that reminded me of Alice and Wonderland when she fell through the rabbit hole, minus the swirling green clouds.

"Yeah, let's up it stays that way." Nathan remarked as we finally reached the edge of hyperspace. I breathed a sigh of relief internally. I certainly didn't want to deal with any large ghost creatures or swarm of ghost bees like I had the last time I was here.

As we flew through hyperspace it reminded me a lot of being on a plane at a high altitude. The dark evening sky is what the hyperspace reminded me of. It lacked the stars that would've made it look like a normal evening sky. It instead looked other worldly. As my thoughts danced about looking at the strange sight I began to think about how Technus might react when he finds the unit.

"Nathan, do you think Technus will find it odd to get a huge keyboard and screen?" I asked him. Nathan turned and looked at me.

"I think he might just think it's a gift from a secret admirer or tech that someone lost in the Zone." Nathan sighed.

"You sure there's nothing on the keyboard that would be traced back to us?" I asked him. I knew Technus had a very analytical mind and might suspect the unit was a trap. Who in their right mind would lose such large technology or would Technus truly think it was a secret gift from someone.

"All these components are very standard and nothing says Vladco, Axion, Fentonworks or anything that would remotely tie to us." Nathan replied looking very assured about his statement. I still had some concerns but hopefully this plan would be foolproof. We both saw the images of circuit boards start to appear through the green fog below us and we both dived down back into the Ghost Zone. We entered through the floating array of circuits into Technus' lair but no sign of Technus. We waste no time as Nathan tossed the keyboard and screen gently over onto what looked like a lab table with circuits on it.

"Now we wait." Nathan said quietly as we flew quickly back through hyperspace. There were still no sign of large ghost creatures or annoying ghost bees to threaten us this time though I was ready for trouble at any moment. I was also certain that Walker was on patrol but must've been tied up with wherever the rumored fighting that was happening in the Zone. It left this part of the Zone we were in practically vacant.

As I looked up I spotted the portal entrance which was marked by a floating large 10 foot Packer's helmet which told us we were approaching the mansion. We dove back down into the Ghost Zone long enough to jump back through the Mayor's Mansion Portal as Vlad and Carolyn flew in materializing behind us.

"I can't believe we actually didn't have any problems running into unwanted company." I commented. This was a first time for me and I was relieved we had the mission over with so quickly. It seemed odd that I almost felt disappointed that I didn't get to flex any ghost muscles and fight something. I felt all charged up with adrenaline expected to run into trouble and now needed an outlet to burn up my fueled energy. Vlad flew in behind us and I heard him breath an exhausted sigh of relief.

"We were fortunate this time. My informant told contacted me to let me know that the fighting was happening on the northern end of the Zone but might move back to our area which is why we had to do the jump so soon." Vlad explained. It made me feel a bit more relieved him explaining this to us. At least that explained the absence of the ghosts where we were. Still I had some concerns about everything as I transformed back into my human form.

"What's wrong Little Badger?" Vlad asked as he shut down the portal. Vlad could read me like an open book. That's also what made it so hard to battle him when we were more along the lines of enemies in times past.

"I know I shouldn't complain and I'm not inferring that I don't trust your informant, but doesn't it feel like this mission was too easy to accomplish? No one gave us trouble, almost as if the ghosts were putting out a welcome mat for us." I commented. I felt better having gotten this off my chest. Vlad shook his head and shrugged it off.

"You know, Badger is right. This was a rather unusually smooth operation we pulled off. It feels a bit weird to me as well that we didn't even encounter some random feral ghosts." Nathan added. I was glad he shared my concern even if it wasn't warranted.

"It's probably because we have been so use to having conflict involving a ghost in the Zone that when we have a mission without incident, it seems a bit unsettling." Carolyn added. Vlad glanced back at the portal and looked deep in thought as he sat down in his easy chair and picked up the newspaper.

"Oh strawberry tarts!" Carolyn spat and she looked angry at her phone.

"What's wrong Aunt Carolyn?" I asked as she paced back and forth in frustration. She seldom used pastry curses unlike Vlad unless she was genuinely upset.

"I was suppose to include a program that when the creature hit the up arrow it would play a clip to the creature about its history. I wanted to prove to it somehow that the portal blast did not exterminate its species." Carolyn voiced in frustration. Vlad saw her distress and walked up to her and gently placed his hand on her chin and lifted her face up. She was fighting back tears.

"Don't worry about it sweetheart. When we catch the creature we can set the record straight." Vlad said softly smiling at her. Vlad always had a way to calm down anyone when he wasn't being a full blown Fruitloop.

"It's just that it would've been nice if the clip was available to the creature. If it saw the story of how scientists believed it went extinct then maybe it would even stop the attacks and we wouldn't have to be concerned with catching it." Carolyn added, looking rather deflated. Nathan's eyes then had a glint of an idea.

"Mom...why don't we broadcast the message to the unit when the creature is near it?" Nathan suggested. Carolyn's face then lit up with hope as she sported a smile.

"It might be possible. I am uncertain if the transmitting interface can receive images in addition to text and voice." Carolyn answered.

"It should even though it isn't the newest interface, it will do. All we have to do is transmit the clip on our end and the creature will immediately see it." Nathan explained confidentially. The sooner the creature learned the truth about its past, the better.

"Nathan you're brilliant!" Carolyn exclaimed. I feared Nathan getting the big head. He has some of his dad's ego.

"Brilliant like his father!" Vlad said proudly. Now I had two over inflated egos to deal with!

As Nathan was basking in his 'brilliance' I heard a beep beep sound and looked at the ghost monitor.

"Hey everybody, Technus has found the unit!" Carolyn said as she also viewed the monitor and Technus' face appeared in front of the screen that secretly doubled as a camera capturing his various expressions. He has a puzzled expression as we saw him looking all over the unit and studying it.

"Now it's simply a matter of time before the creature will sense the unit as it gives off a frequency similar to its field. The more ghosts Technus shows off this unit too, the more likely it will be spotted by the creature." Vlad explained as we all studied the monitor and watched Technus' expression with amusement. The notion that the creature would spot the unit was based on the assumption that the being spent a reasonable amount of time in the Ghost Zone...hopefully. We looked as Technus moved his hand across the keyboard in admiration.

"My oh my, how my luck has changed. I wonder who left this here? Boy this is a huge keyboard and screen, maybe some giant creature lost it or maybe I have a secret fan." Technus mused aloud. We all laughed as we were watching him. The keyboard's size bordered on ridiculous but Technus didn't seem too phased by it. He began pressing keys which transmitted to the core computer at our end and transmitted back the image of the key pressed on the screen and an audio of the name of the key pressed. I noticed each key was sung like a note and found that intriguing. It made the unit to be more of a musical learning system than just a computer keyboard and screen.

"It looks like Technus is going to be bragging about his latest find. That's what we need him to do. Hopefully the creature might catch wind of this if it hears about it in the Ghost Zone and will travel to see it for itself." Vlad hoped. I knew that rumors spread like wildfire in the Ghost Zone. One rumor got started that I was secretly dating Ember. I don't know who started it but a very jealous Skulker was ready to pulverize me rather than just try to capture me for my pelt. It took a lot of convincing but we finally went back to our usual hunter/prey relationship although I would've preferred he took up a different pastime rather than hunting rare ghosts.

"Well the keyboard is certainly big enough. How can anyone not see that thing. It's so huge it's downright freaky!" I commented. It was practically the size of a small to medium billboard. Technus hit some more keys and it practically made an odd song. Vlad raised an eyebrow at the various musical sounds and turned to Carolyn with a look of concern.

"Love bunny, I didn't recall the key tones all sounding so differently and musical at that." Vlad commented with his eyebrows raised.

"I know baby, it was last minute but I thought making the key tones form actual notes would make it more appealing to the creature." Carolyn replied. I looked at Technus and at it sounded like he was trying to make up a song.

"You may have already mentioned this, but does this keyboard also pronounce whole words?" Nathan asked.

"Yes it does, when letters are put together and form a word, once the enter key is pressed the word or series of words are expressed by the computer voice." Carolyn explained.

"I'm confused though. We know the creature can already communicate with us. Why even bother with re teaching it what it already seems to know?" Nathan asked.

"Because it has had to struggle to interface with a communications that was able to produce sounds and words. It appears to barely be able to interface at all since it is from another dimension and is limited to computer and electronics as a main form of verbal expression." Carolyn answered. Nathan and I looked puzzled.

"So how is this unit different?" I asked as I also was a bit confused. I remember mentioning about this unit before and its unique feature but I was also tired and had heavily studied for an upcoming midterm, so I wasn't completely paying attention when the unit was explained to me earlier.

"Simple Daniel. Based on the behavior and communications of the creature, since it appears to be unable to tangibly touch solid things, its only means of interaction is to send voltage signals over each key on a keyboard. This is based on readings of all the instruments that I've studied in which the creature came into contact with those devices. Now it need only move it's fin like appendages over a desired key and the key will play the letter or word combo that the creature creates easily without it having to exert a focus of energy like we think it may have had to do before." Vlad explained. So that made sense now. And with the ease of communications it might further explain something about itself that might be helpful.

"Also we've noticed the creature seems to act at times like it fully doesn't know how to express itself. It will answer us at times like it understands us completely, then at other times it acts like it doesn't fully understand us. Either it doesn't comprehend phrases at times or maybe it's just overly suspicious." Carolyn added.

"Then again maybe it just doesn't always want to answer us." I offered. As much as we were able to learn about the creature, there was much more that we still didn't know about it.

"You must recall Daniel this creature came from a world very different than our own. It may be from our earth's past or a planet like our earth but its species has its own form of language just as animals and other types of creatures have their own unique language on our planet. It must've taken quite a while to finally learn what the sounds and visual expressions of our words meant to it." Vlad explained. I thought about what he was saying and decided to raise a counter point.

"How do you really know the creature didn't already have a language similar to our own. Look at Skulker, he doesn't even look like anything close to human like, but he speaks excellent English." I asked. Vlad nodded at my question and raised a valid point.

"It arrived over 20 years ago and didn't even attempt to contact us until recently. I suspected that this was due to it having to spend years to understand our language and then try to find a way to reach us. It was also hindered because of limited ability to interact in our dimension." He replied. It did explain why it took so long before making a first contact attempt with us. Then again Vlad waited 20 years to make a move on Maddie in the other timeline, and he was only in the hospital for less than 5 years and didn't even write to her. But then Vlad in any timeline was pretty odd in some of his ways of doing things so I considered him to be the 'Fruitloop Exception'.

"Hey, it looks like Technus is carrying the unit over to Skulker." Nathan said as we kept seeing Skulker's face off to the side. Technus was now playing the song that sounded like 'Ember You Will Remember My Name.' Skulker's face now hovered over the keyboard looking down at it.

"Man Technus, this thing is huge! Did you steal it from a large ghost creature?" Skulker asked.

"No actually, either someone lost it or it some benevolent being left it to me as a gift." Technus replied as he dusted off the screen. He then began to play the Ember song again which sounded good except letter names were being said instead of the words to her song.

"That's pretty good Technus. You're playing Ember's song. Maybe you should take a shot playing in one of her rehearsals in her neck of the Ghost Zone. She likes going into the human world but its tougher now that the whelp has other ghost-hybrids fighting us." Skulker said. I guessed the 'whelp' he was referring to was me. At least it was good to know I wasn't the only one with powers now that I had Vlad's family was fighting with me. Team Phantom was good in the day but there was only so much Sam and Tucker could do. Of course Vlad could still be a Fruitloop at times but now more eccentric than fully annoying antagonist for the most part.

"It is quite entertaining to use. I get the feeling whoever left this may be someone who spends a lot of time in the human world." Technus added and I became worried. What if he suspects a human left it on purpose. If he connected the dots he might even suspect I left it as some elaborate trap. Then again maybe I was just drawing straws from worry.

"Why do you think a human left it?" Skulker asked as he rubbed his chin, thinking about what Technus said. Technus smiled as he hit an 'L' key and the audio sang 'L' as he pressed it.

"Because there is no one that I know of in the Ghost Zone that has such an obsession for technology." Technus explained. Now I was genuinely concerned.

"Well there have been rumors of a creature in the Ghost Zone that has taken an interest in electronics from the human world. It is said that it arrived over two decades ago and has remained hidden in the ghost realm only spotted on rare occasions." Skulker explained. I knew he had to be talking about our 'creature.' His description of the creature made it appear to be skittish of other creatures. Maybe it was low on the food chain and hunted by lots of larger prey on its world wherever that was. This would also hinder it trying to communicate with anyone if other ghosts were hunting it.

"Can I try a few notes?" Skulker asked. Technus moved the keyboard so Skulker's face was now in view. It looked so odd seeing Skulker looking right at us. It almost felt at times like he knew we were looking back at him but there was no way he could know. Just my paranoia at work again.

"Is there anything else you know of regarding this creature? It sounds fascinating." Technus asked as Skulker began playing some tunes with the letters on the keyboard.

"It is described as being fish like. I remember this because any fish-like creature is rare in the Ghost Zone. That being said I considered hunting it but other rumors suggested it wasn't able to fully exist in our realm, like it kept phasing into invisibility and couldn't maintain a corporeal shape in this realm. Some also have said that its arrival was around the same time that a small portal opened up briefly from the human world. We think it was the human world as someone witnessed a face of a young man that briefly appeared in the portal. This man was seen screaming as green glowing energy was hitting him. His face turned pimply and his hair white before the opening vanished." Skulker described.

I felt a knot in my stomach when I heard it and looked at Vlad out of the corner of my eye. He became very still and stiff. Even to this day any mention about the accident would trigger a reaction in Vlad even if it was just in his body language. There must've been a lot of trauma with that incident. He only spent a few days in the hospital thanks to Carolyn's being pulled into the timeline but then I remember the other side of the trauma Vlad must've gone through; waking up one day with ghost powers and having one's looks changing in a flash. His initial transformation was way scarier than my own. I can't begin to fathom the degree of trauma he must have endured but at least Carolyn was there, going through it with him.

"Do you think that the creature may have dropped this keyboard. I mean the keys are big enough for large fins to press the keys but then how could it even carry a keyboard if it can't interact in our world?" Skulker added.

"I don't think the creature could've touched it and I really don't care. I am more interested with what I can do with it. I may be able to build some amazing tech or even try a few concerts of my own." Technus answered. I could tell that Technus was already hooked on the keyboard. It isn't everyday that there is free floating technological entertainment in the Ghost Zone.

" Maybe whoever left it might come back for it. In that case it would make an interesting prey worthy to be hunted." Skulker mused. While the creature was a pain at the very least, I really didn't wish it to become one of Skulker's eventual hunts.

"You know, I bet if I was good enough maybe Ember would let me play in one of her upcoming concerts in the Ghost Zone. Maybe I could find a way to have this keyboard just play the notes without saying the letters. Then again saying a random bunch of letters can be entertaining in of itself. This tech is truly intriguing." Technus gazed as he listened to Skulker pick at a few keys randomly. I turned away from the monitor and eyed Vlad as I had one of my zillion questions I wanted to ask.

"If Technus takes this to a concert it would almost be certain the creature would see it if it hung around in the Ghost Zone, but how close does it need to get to pick up on its field?" I asked. I knew that it sensing the field would be the real lure that would attract it to the unit.

"The field is quite strong. While it weakens as it transmits back to us, it will be easily picked up by the creature in the Zone at estimates of at least several miles." Vlad described to me. Nathan looked puzzled.

"Why not just have the unit here and wait for it to come here as a trap?" Nathan asked.

"I am guessing based on its behavior it likes to remain hidden until it chooses to make itself known during our various contacts. What better place to hide than in the Ghost Zone. It's also the first refuge I am guessing this creature escaped to after the rift caused by the portal explosion. It may consider this place to be a place of safety and be drawn to it." Vlad said as he was reading something on his phone.

"That's still a lot of guesswork dad." Nathan responded skeptically as Carolyn was reading another monitor nearby. Vlad looked up and smirked at his son's remark.

"That's all science really is, our best guesses." Vlad smiled as he studied the screen and saw Technus face appeared closer on the screen letting us know that he was now holding the unit, looking at it. At a moment a semi transparent image overlaid Technus' face with the words "System Update" on it.

"Is it suppose to do that?" I asked as the text then flashed off the screen and only Technus face remained in view.

"I did that. It was actually an image of a text. Now that I know it can receive images, I can send that clip to play on the screen when the creature is near." Carolyn said looking satisfied as she kept looking at a second monitor that had lots of data running across it and various colored lines and words next to each that were abbreviations for measurements of frequency, background field interference and so on. I looked back on the screen and saw Skulker's face again off to the side studying the unit

"Are you going to take it apart and see what makes it tick?" Skulker suggested with a chuckle. He knew that Technus wanted to reverse engineer the unit so it just played and composed music. I became a bit concerned they might try to break the unit apart. But the unit was suppose to be tamper proof and designed in such a way as to discourage tinkering...at least that was the hope.

"I'm rather afraid to. This unit is a solid sate unit that has no removable screws.. The only way to tamper with it would be to break it. Unless this device has some special button that allows the option to play notes instead of each key being sung to us, I would prefer not to break it to the point of ruining it." Technus cautioned. That was good. Technus knew breaking the unit might make it inoperable. I silently kept my fingers crossed as we listened to them talking.

"Perhaps you can visit the human world and see if there is an online manual that describes more fully the features and possibly a secret way that the unit is able to be disassembled." Skulker suggested. It sounded like Skulker was a bit more savvy than I realized in the tech department, but then it made sense. Technus wasn't probably always available if Ember had problems with her guitar, so no doubt Skulker probably learned some stuff about musical technology.

As we looked at the screen there was a pause in which the unit was set down as Technus and Skulker continued to talk more about the unit. After several minutes the monitor we were viewing them on began to flicker and then went dark. I panicked. This so could not be happening.

"The power to the unit has gone out!" I exclaimed. After all we went through and with a flawless drop only to have this happen was unbelievable.

"Relax Badger, it's got a power feature that allows it to conserve energy when not in use for more than a couple of minutes." Nathan answered having a grin.

"And why wasn't I told of this?" I asked. How come Nathan knew more than me about this. I thought I knew everything about this keyboard.

"I couldn't sleep one night and decided to go down to the study and saw my mom and dad working on some blueprints. I asked a few tech questions and didn't get much answers at the time as the unit hadn't been assembled yet, but I recall the mention of an automatic power saving feature. I thought I recalled mentioning it to you." Nathan replied. He probably did. It was probably the night I had to spend extra time studying and had a nasty habit of tuning Nathan out when he talked to me. Carolyn walked over to the monitor and then looked at another monitor that was showing specs about the keyboard.

"Don't worry Danny. The unit keeps transmitting a low power pulse so we know where it is at all times even when its main power has shut down. The pulse feature conserves energy since the signal is broadcast only for a second and then bleeps at 10 second intervals." Carolyn explained further. She had been quiet during most of the conversation but I could tell she was very excited about the unit. A thought dawned on me. I had a lot of pent up energy and had an idea.

"Could I stay up and keep an eye on the thing to see if the creature shows up on the radar?" I asked. I was on pins and needles wondering when our creature would discover the thing. Nathan shot a questioning glance at me.

"Don't forget Badger, you and I need to do a quick refresher for the midterm coming up. And you made me promise not to allow you to wait till the last minute to study with you." Nathan reminded me with a grin. I really wish he had forgotten that promise. No one save my sister knew more about I much I loathed studying than Nathan. I know I had now been lately getting straight A's but Vlad warned me not to be too cocky about it or I'd be tempted to understudy. That would certainly undo all that I have accomplished in improving my grades. Still...I wasn't a big fan of studying.

"Do you have to remember all the study promises I tell you to make?" I complained to Nathan secretly hoping he would allow me to skip a day.

"It's difficult for me to forget Badger, I do have an eidetic memory." Nathan bragged mildly. It must've been wonderful just glancing at something for a few moments and then have it memorized. Sometimes Nathan's natural photographic memory could make him insufferable as he hardly needed any studying time while I grueled away with hours of memorization. Yet he still felt he needed to study. It must've been an ability and an attitude he inherited from his dad. I could see his dad in a cubicle writing a ton of computer code. Vlad may be a Fruitloop at times but he was also very brilliant, making a near sentient Carolyn hologram among other things.

"I'll try not to forget that." I said jokingly. Nathan smirked.

"I promise the midterm studying will be more enjoyable this time around." Nathan added. I couldn't believe what he was saying. When was studying the midterm ever an enjoyable experience.

"What makes you think I will enjoy it this time? I certainly just suffered through it the last time we studied." I asked him.

"It's a wait and see Badger. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise." Nathan teased like a cat that swallowed the canary.

"And let me guess, you wont tell me till we start the studying." I commented as we both left the living room and walked toward the study.

"As always Badger, you're right." Nathan grinned as we approached the study room.

Nathan was smug as ever, much like Vlad when he temporarily stole the ring from Pariah Dark...that is until Carolyn found out and a fight ensued. She eventually won in a strange compromise where she scanned a copy of the ring onto a 3d printer and infused it with ecto energy. I wasn't sure if her moral compass was 100 percent that day but she explained to me that if Pariah Dark got his ring back why would he even care. I didn't hear anything more about it but I feared someday her decision to print the ring might come back to haunt her.

As we walked over to the study Nathan gave me one of his dad's goofy grins. My mind was bursting with curiosity when Nathan opened the door my jaw dropped. I saw in the middle of the array of books neatly arranged in the large library that took up half of the room, there was a large television screen similar to the kind Vlad used at his business meetings that I attended from time to time. I attended his meetings as he expected me to learn about his businesses so if one day something happened to him and his son couldn't take over, I would also know enough to competently run his companies. I knew this meant business school in addition to NASA training but I didn't mind since several of Vlad's companies were related to building and testing parts for NASA's space missions.

"I guess you have a million questions. Simply put, it's our new medium of studying." Nathan commented as he saw my shocked expression. Vlad didn't allow even pocket games or playing on our phones while we were in the study room, and the phones were only allowed if were caught up in our study schedule and taking a break. This screen screamed of entertainment.

"So do we get to watch a show on a large screen?" I asked keeping hopeful he would say 'yes' though my gut warned me it wasn't all that it seemed.

"We will right now...sort of. Let me turn it on and you can see for yourself." Nathan replied. Nathan was certainly theatrical when it came to suspense. He must've taken delight in the puzzled expressions I was making. He grabbed a remote and hit the power button and a series of icons appeared on the screen. He moved the remote in a direction which in turn moved the cursor over to the icon picture of a high school with the letter 'C' in the middle of it. He clicked a button and the words "LOADING" flashed on the screen as I waited in suspense.

"So what is this? The Homework Channel?" I asked jokingly. In a moment later I found out as I saw Mr. Lancer dressed head to toe in a giant badger costume. I could only tell it was him as he struggled to push his head out of the lower top of the giant head of the outfit. The eyes and face of the head of the costume were fashioned in exaggerated cartoon fashion. Looking at him was hilarious as he kept a serious face and I could barely stifle a laugh as I needed to listen to what was said. Lancer spoke in his usual deadpan voice which seeing him in the outfit made it all the more hilarious.

"I suppose you are wondering why I am dressed like this and being filmed in my class. Quite simply one of the parents came to me and suggested I offer a study aid to help all of you in learning what we study on in class. While I can't do these mini movies all the time, I decided to accept the challenge and see how one of these videos contributes to the learning environment." Lancer said as I still couldn't fathom what I was seeing on the screen.

"Can we pause for a moment?" I asked and Nathan nodded clicking the pause button.

"How on earth did Mr. Lancer agree to do this?" I asked, my voice squeaking as I was hoarse with disbelief.

"It was my mom's idea. She showed him articles of students grades improving using these type of tutorials. She assured me she did not overshadow him." Nathan said with calmness. That was about to be my next question so I asked the next most logical one.

"What could've motivated Mr. Lancer to dress up and look so ridiculous just to get the scores up." I asked. This just seemed unreal.

"Desperation. The scores were pretty bad in the school save yours, mine and Jazz's. Lancer really needed the bonus that was offered to teachers for marked improvement in their grades, so he decided upon this." Nathan said.

"Let me guess, the subject matter involving the badger was your dad's idea." I concluded.

"Right again." Nathan grinned as he restarted the video. One of the topics of discussion was the use of animals as icons to represent a State symbol, an image on a flag, and a sports mascot to name a few. Of course Vlad undoubtedly provided school funds to get the badger costume. I looked in amazement as I watched on and Lancer sang some facts in an unusual and rather hilarious rhyme. I didn't even know he could sing but was told he was once a male cheerleader so it didn't surprise me.

I don't think I was ever so entertained at studying like I was right now. Next on the screen there was a short 5 minute documentary showing a honey badger escaping out of its pen using nothing more than a broom it managed to knock down into its pen after tossing a small stick at it. It scaled up the broom and made its way to freedom. I recall the narrator saying how intelligent and problem solving the honey badger was. It gave a new found appreciation for Vlad calling me his Little Badger. He must've nicknamed me that as a compliment instead of an insult. I could always often problem solve some sticky situations he got himself or both of us into as well as thwart his sometimes Fruitloopy plans. Nathan chuckled to himself.

"I think Lancer secretly misses being a cheerleader." Nathan reasoned. This video erased all doubt in my mind.

"How can he maneuver in that costume?!" I half choked upon asking.

"Apparently he was quite good wearing mascot costumes back in the day. He could not only jump and do other acrobatics, he also could reach all the high and low notes. He was a one man show." Nathan said with a grin. I chuckled to myself and continued to watch the film when I heard a knock at the front door.

"I guess someone probably wants to chat with the Mayor again. We're still getting backlash from when the traffic lights went haywire." Nathan sighed as he walked toward the door and scanned through the peep hole. I was concerned when he looked back at me with a stern look.

"Agents!" He gasped. This was the nickname we gave to the GIW investigators who weren't the regular storm-trooper like law enforcement for ghost activity. I saw Nathan press an alert button that lit up some extra yellow lights throughout the mansion so all would be alerted not to display any ghost powers. Nathan opened the door.

"Can I help you?" Nathan asked refusing to act intimidated by them. He learned from Vlad never to act like he's guilty or hiding anything. Still their presence was unsettling at the very least.

"Yes, I'm agent Miller and this is Agent Faust. We need to speak with your mom for a moment." The agent explained.

"Come on inside while I get her." Nathan responded straining to keep his poker face as he left to get Carolyn. The agents came inside and reminded me of white vultures waiting for their prey. I felt nervous for Carolyn and wondered what they wanted to talk about. A minute later Carolyn came walking up from the kitchen area.

"How can I help you? Would you like to sit down?" She asked. The agents remained standing and looked hard at her.

"That wont be necessary. We need you to come to our downtown facility as we have some questions we need to ask you." Agent Miller replied. My palms felt sweaty just looking at agents.

"I would prefer if I could answer the questions here unless I am being charged with something." Carolyn replied looking equally intimidating as she held her head up high. I saw Vlad walk up beside her.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" Vlad asked as he looked at the agents in a cool unemotional expression.

"Let us get straight to the point Mayor Masters. We have a video clip of what appears to be your wife transforming into the ghost known as Mrs. Wisconsin Ghost that was taken through an open window at your mansion." Agent Miller said as he played a clip of Carolyn transforming on his phone. Vlad chuckled at the clip.

"Clearly someone loves to play with Photoshop." Vlad dismissed. Agent Miller continued to look at Vlad and Carolyn with a piercing stare.

"This image was filmed on a security camera that is aimed at your mansion from city hall. It's custom for city hall security to go through the footage of city office buildings after there's been a public meeting, protest or anything of similar nature. A staff person spotted this and contacted us." Agent Miller explained.

"It's still not impossible that someone clever may have been able to hack into the closed circuit system if they knew what they were doing. It sounds like an elaborate practical joke. I still have some students angry when I tore down the Nasty Burger before I rebuilt it again." Vlad explained smoothly. I really felt bad for Carolyn who was staying very quiet.

"All the same, we need to take your wife downtown and prove she is not secretly a ghost. I apologize Mayor but this is the law here in Amity Park." Agent Miller explained sounding insincerely polite. I do recall looking at these stupid laws that got enacted after all the excessive ghost activity here in this town.

"I'll come with you as I have nothing to hide." Carolyn stepped forward bravely. Vlad looked at her with a forlorn look on his face. Carolyn held Vlad's hand reassuringly and turned to go with the agents. Vlad had to shut his eyes momentarily as he became so angry that they began to glow red. I seriously wanted to blast Agent Miller but resisted. Carolyn as Carolyn Plasmius never did anything to break any laws, but Amity had a no tolerance ghost policy. I wondered what they would do if they caught me as Danny Phantom after all the good I've done for the town.

"Dad, what are you going to do?" Nathan sounded hoarse as he saw his mom being taken away in the GIW car.

"I'm going to send a duplicate of me to invisibly follow her while we formulate a strategy to get these charges against her dropped." Vlad said sternly trying to contain his temper.

"There's a shield up at the GIW department so no ghosts can enter in or out." Nathan reminded his dad.

"I'll enclose my duplicate inside of one of my security cam bugs I have for emergencies. It has certain properties inside the cam bug that will allow me to go to the facility and fly in under the door undetected by any ghost shield." Vlad explained. I was aware of the ghost masking properties of the cameras but I was still puzzled at how he could shrink his duplicate into one of those things.

"How are you able to fit your duplicate inside of such a small lady bug sized camera?" I asked. I knew it could be done as Vlad as done it before but it was a bit puzzling to me and I was curious as well as needing to distract my mind from Carolyn being detained at the GIW to keep from over-stressing.

"Well, it's quite simple Daniel. Our duplicates are basically ecto energy which more precisely is simply a form of quantum energy. This quantum energy not only allows our duplicates us to have the ability to go through solid objects because they exist in an energized state, but to compress our duplicates in size as well." Vlad explained. I basically understood it but it didn't make me feel any better about what happened to Carolyn.

"So what happens now with mom?" Nathan asked.

"Video evidence is not enough to formally indict someone as a ghost, they will have to follow up with a blood test. Our job is to filter the ectoplasm out of the blood so she will just have normal human blood and they will have to set her free." Vlad explained.

"Then they'll have to conclude that someone probably hacked into the security cam across the street. Meantime if the city allows we should frost all our windows as an extra added security to prevent this from happening in the future." I added. I had no idea there was even a security cam aimed over at the mansion, but filming adjacent buildings owned by the city was allowed by Amity's laws.

"I still think I should go with you Vlad. You could hide me inside the security cam and I can filter the ectoplasm out of the vials as I can create a mini shield that separates ectoplasm from everything else." I volunteered.

"She's my mom, I need to do this." Nathan protested. He was much more experienced than I in most ghost powers, but for some reason I had a natural ability to create small shields more easily and used it to filter out specific elements once I knew the field of the element. I didn't know how to tell Nathan that I was better for this without offending him, but I had to try.

"Listen man, I know she's your mom and you want to be there for her. But for some reason when we each did a test, I was able to produce a more specific filtering ghost shield of various sizes large and small. You can do it to a degree but you have some limits. It's just like you're better at baseball than me and I'm better at soccer than you. There's just some genetics that make it happen that way, like we learned in biology class." I explained to Nathan desperately hoping he would agree with me.

"It's just so frustrating. I grew up with these powers and there are still some things that we each can do better at than the other. I just hate feeling so helpless when it involves saving mom." Nathan confessed saddened and frustrated by his limitations.

"Daniel and I will get her back son. You need to be able to help Daniel as he will be having to send a duplicate to school that will appear to be him while he hides inside the security bug." Vlad explained and I raised a brow in surprise.

"My duplicate is really dumb and can only do a few tasks at a time." I reminded Vlad. I just barely learned how to duplicate and the duplicates were way dumber and limited in what they could do.

"That's why I need the original 'you' to be the one doing the filtration of the blood for Carolyn. This is too delicate of an operation to chance to one of your duplicates. Nathan will be with you at school to cover bases should you have any problems with your duplicate." Vlad clarified. What he said made sense, but I wasn't very happy going to school in a duplicate form. I knew however that Carolyn's freedom was on the line. I prayed I wouldn't make too much of a fool of myself.

I looked at the time and it was getting too late to call Tucker or anyone else. I needed to rest up for the mission tomorrow and hoped everything would go well. Failure was not an option in helping Carolyn. If I acted a little stupid as a duplicate at school, it was a small price to pay for Carolyn's freedom.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 One of Our Own"

**Klaatu: The plot thickens even more as Carolyn, now taken into custody by the GIW must rely on the blood test to prove she is not a ghost. The creature is remaining in hiding for a while but will far more active in the coming chapter. There is a reason it is hiding for a while which will be made known in the coming chapter as well.**

**This is truly been an awesome undertaking for me and am close to completion with this story. I have added a unique twist on the element of Nathan who now has to get use to his new transform into looking like his father Vlad Plasmius in the previous chapter. This was a fun experiment that I decided to do at the last minute. I personally think the vampire look is hot and I guess I am not alone. He is frustrated with his appearance as he resembles his father who has had a less than noble reputation particularly in dealings in the Ghost Zone. He is eventually accepting of the look and finds it actually makes him more attractive particularly to women who like vampires and thus Nathan's resemblance to them.**

**I also will address some fan theory as to why Vlad and Carolyn's ghost persona look so different than Danny and Nathan as this has been a subject I have long wondered about and read some fanfiction that helps to explain this and added my own theories on the subject. Also, the Time Wrangler will make a brief entrance. Remember this ghost has a vendetta mostly against Carolyn as well as she changed Vlad's timeline. I could say more but I'll give stuff away so again, enjoy and please review.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Checkmate or Endgame.

Carolyn's POV

I was leaning in the backseat of the agent's SUV that had security locks and cargo barrier in front of me. I sighed and then relaxed as I felt my husband's invisible duplicate putting an arm around me. As we would enter the facility, I planned to absorb his duplicate temporarily inside of me so that he could pass through the ghost shield undetected. I really missed Vlad and it wasn't the same without him, but having a part of him next to me really helped to relax me.

"Ms. Masters, did you have anything you wanted to say right now?" Agent Miller asked. I knew they read me my Miranda rights already and I decided to use my right to remain silent.

"I assert my right to remain silent and wish to contact an attorney." I replied coldly. I was going to take full advantage of rights that were provided to me under the law. I kept my emotions in check. I hated the GIW. Basically not the individual persons but the mentality that they represented. But I knew where my anger had gotten me before. The guilt from the incident when I was exposed to the artifact still haunted me even if the earthquake had truly been a coincidence. I vowed never again to allow my temper to control me.

"Suit yourself." Agent Miller replied. I was surprised and a bit disturbed that Agent Faust still remained unusually quiet but decided to ignore him as I needed to find out what the plan was back home. Fortunately Vlad and I had our own secret sign language that we used where we used touch as a means of communicating. It was quite effective and virtually undetectable. We had memorized a small dictionary's volume of words in which a single tap consisted of the four fingers in various combinations. We had thousands of words memorized which we learned over the course of a year and could almost tap as fast as someone talked. I leaned into Vlad's right side as I felt him place his right hand next to the side of my left leg. I carefully slid my left hand across the seat over to where I felt his right leg was. My hand movements would look like nothing more than me fidgeting.

"What's the plan?" I signed to Vlad. He tapped words at an amazing speed. It took me only a minute to piece the sentence together. I think our ghost powers heightened our ability to tap unusually fast and unscramble the coded physical taps we sent each other in a matter of moments.

"Daniel is going to phase himself into a security bug I will be carrying with me as I visit you tomorrow. After we pass through the ghost shield he will direct the bug to fly under the door into the lab and go to where your blood is stored and filter out the ectoplasm using a mini ghost shield. He'll carry the collected ectoplasm in a small flask and phase it with himself back into the security bug and then the bug will fly back into my pocket." Vlad tapped calmly.

"Sounds like a well thought out plan. On another note, I wanted to know how we'll go about capturing the creature when it is detected by the unit?" I signed back quickly. I kept glancing at the agents in the seat in front of me. So far no one was suspecting anything.

We'll need all hands on deck considering how it has evaded capture thus far. I'm thinking of including Jack and Maddie to help us." Vlad signed. I was a bit stunned. While Maddie was an excellent ghost hunter there was the problem with Jack. Jack even at his best moments could still at times be a bit bumbling.

"You sure this is such a good idea? This is Jack we're talking about. The Jack that accidentally poured a diet soda in the ectofiltrator. He also accidentally opened and shut the portal and let numerous ghosts into Amity Park." I signed. I needed to know that my husband wasn't joking. I knew that Jack could be a very good ghost fighter, and at other times he got careless.

"I realize that Jack can make serious mistakes but all and all he is still a very competent ghost fighter. He just needs to avoid being distracted." Vlad signed. I had to bring up all the reasons why this was a bad idea.

"You know we wont be able to go half-ghost if Jack and Maddie are with us. We'll be stuck using only technology to fight the thing." I reminded Vlad. There was a pause from his sign language to me as he reached over and held my hand. It said way more than any words he could have secretly signed to me.

I saw the car pull up to the GIW facility. I got out and was escorted to the white marble holding cell. I allowed Vlad temporarily phased slightly inside my body so the ghost shield wouldn't detect him. As the door to the holding cell was opened I noticed the security was not very tight. I reasoned it was because the agents were actually hoping I'd slip up and try to escape by trying to become ghost. I wasn't so stupid and suspected this is why they never tried to use any ghost restraining tech on me. Either that or the city budget wouldn't allow it. I saw a security guard stationed outside my door as Vlad's invisible duplicate phased out of my body and I felt his energy as he sat next to me. It was comforting knowing he was there even if I could only feel him.

"Do I get a phone call?" I asked in a slight snippy tone at an agent that walked past my cell.

"You will after you've been processed in the morning.." He answered and walked into the lab room. I had read about the GIW processing procedure and expected that they would draw my blood in the morning. I shared my concerns tapping nervously to Vlad.

"They're going to draw my blood in the morning. I hope Danny is up to this." I signed.

"Everything will be fine love." Vlad signed back putting his arm around me. I wanted so badly to lean into him but realized that would've looked odd on the security camera that was positioned to watch me.

"How long can you stay in this form till you dissipate?" I signed slowly. I was afraid of the answer. I dreaded him leaving in the night.

"I can last until morning, and then I will be visiting you again in the flesh." Vlad signed back. I felt better knowing he was beside me. I was frustrated that I wasn't home right now helping with the capture of the creature but I knew I had to be patient. Patience was something that I didn't always have a lot of, but I would need it with some faith as I awaited the processing tomorrow. It still seemed so ridiculous to be here suspected of being a ghost. I imagined how those accused during the Salem Witch trials must've felt.

"Vlad?" I signed weakly as I began to feel tired, probably from the stress of the evening

"Yes sweetheart?" He signed in reply.

"I love you." I signed as I headed to the single bed and laid down. It was small but Vlad half phased into me to make more room. His warm ghost core helped to relax me and it wasn't long before I fell asleep.

The Next Morning

A lab tech came in and awakened me drawing some blood. I was sleepy but made myself focus on the labels on the vials that read "P134GT". I figured the 'P' stood for patient followed by a number and that the 'GT' stood for ghost test. The blood draw was surprisingly quick and didn't hardly hurt at all or maybe just because I was so tired. I saw the vials placed into the first refrigerator in the next room over from me. I laid back down and let myself close my eyes. I could still feel Vlad next to me and I felt so much more comforted in this ordeal.

I short time later I awoke again to seeing Vlad through the window in the room and sensed Danny as Vlad came up to the security guard and spoke with him. As he came in I could tell the dark circles under his eyes were a bit darker. It took a lot of concentration to have a duplicate out for an entire night. Sometime in the morning after the lab tech, Vlad's duplicate must've left but I didn't wake up to it...fortunately.

"How are you doing?" Vlad asked.

"As best as can be expected." I replied as I saw out of the corner of my eye the security bug that was literally as small and simply looked like a lady bug crawl out of Vlad's pocket. The only way I could tell it wasn't was the mechanical moving parts that I detected with my ghost powered super hearing. I knew Vlad was there to see where the vials were so Danny knew exactly where to go and what to look for. I was relieved I wouldn't have to to sign language while holding his hand. Now I would wait as Danny would filter the ecto out of the vials using his intangibility powers.

"I had to let Maddie out again." Vlad said. I knew that was a cue that he was going to talk to me in code so I prepared to listen extra carefully to what was said next.

"I understand she can be needy." I replied. That was my way for acknowledging to Vlad that I would be getting a secret message in his sentence.

"I will be making sure she gets her claws cut as she can be feisty." Vlad commented. That was a code that he would be fighting the laws to remove some of the power the GIW had which was far too much. Although they were a federal agency, they had to abide to a degree to local laws of Amity Park. Hopefully the law could be repealed that arrested someone on suspicion of being a ghost.

As we talked I saw the bug out of the corner of my eye fly behind the fridge and I felt Danny's ghost duplicate leave the bug and phase into the refrigerator where my blood vials were stored. Moments later I felt his presence move from inside the refrigerator and phase back inside the bug as it then flew toward Vlad and landed in his pocket.

"I hope she gets obedience training. Maybe Maddie and Jack can refer us to a trainer." I said. I was really saying that I hope Maddie and Jack will go to the training room at the mansion before we all make another attempt to capture the creature. I knew there was nothing wrong with talking about hunting ghosts, but I didn't even want to chance bringing the subject up while I was held at the GIW.

"We'll see. I'm sorry my visit is short but I have to take care of urgent matters at home." Vlad added. I knew that he needed to get out of there smuggling the ectoplasm and Danny in the security bug hiding in his jacket. He gave me a quick kiss on the lips and headed out. I wanted to merge a duplicate of me on the way out but it was too risky. Hopefully the results of the test would come back soon and I could head home. I had no idea how right I was. No sooner did Vlad leave than a portable testing facility drove up that I spotted through a window. I saw a woman dressed in a nurse's uniform carrying a small handbag that I suspected was testing equipment. I saw her enter the lab area and pulled out the vials labeled "P134GT" and began to place them under a special type of electron microscope I assumed could detect ectoplasm.

"That was close." I thought to myself internally. It wasn't a usual procedure for a lab tech to come so quickly and test blood on site. I guess they were in a hurry to find out if I was a ghost or no. I waited as I looked and saw the woman come back out through the door with a paper in her hand as she walked outside the door, handing the slip of paper to the guard outside of my room. The guard then turned and opened the door and spoke the four words I had been waiting all morning to hear.

"You're free to go." He said and I practically jumped out of my bed. I picked up my belongings on the way out as I was checked out by an agent standing outside the door. I was relieved and walked quickly over to the mansion which was only a couple of blocks away. I arrived home and opened the door. I saw Vlad standing looking out the window and then turning to me with a big grin on his face as he ran toward me. I threw my arms around him and held him so tightly as if to keep him from floating away. We walked toward the sofa and sat down. I noticed he had my favorite Earl Grey Tea in a silver teapot that looked inviting. I leaned into him and felt my eyes were still heavy from not getting a decent sleep the night before.

"I missed you!" I said to him as he held me. I looked around to make sure all the blinds were pulled as I felt the need to transform due to the stress I experienced. Transforming for a while helped to relax me and came in quite handy from time to time. I felt my white rings wash up around me as I turned into Carolyn Plasmius.

"I really missed you a bunch. Even being next to you in duplicate isn't the same as having you next to me." Vlad said as he too turned into Vlad Plasmius. He needed to unwind as well. I looked at my outfit that was so similar to Vlad's and closed my eyes trying to concentrate to see if I could make the outfit transform into a nightie. I saw him pull out his phone and send a quick text to Nathan.

"I know this is not that important but don't you wish our outfits were interchangeable so I could transform into a nightgown just to relax for a while." I said half complaining.

"I don't think they make custom sleep attire in the Ghost Zone." Vlad commented with a mild chuckle. I still found it odd how different our outfits were from Danny.

"Vlad...I know I've asked these probably a million times already but I just can't help wondering. Any new theories as to why are our outfits so different from the kids?" I asked him. I needed to wind myself around a different train of thought instead of worrying about capturing the creature or keeping from being discovered as a half-ghost. I needed the distraction to relax my mind.

"You know honey, I don't even know that myself. I think this outfit is a reflection of our persona that is then transformed from ecto energy into these clothes." Vlad began to theorize.

"I know I keep wondering about it and I guess it isn't that important to know. I also know that being half ghost has shown to age us much slower. I mean Nathan can still grow up normally but he wont get wrinkles and other maladies of age so quickly as most others. I guess though there is a difference in looks when the Masters family transforms, Danny will still have this same slower advantage to aging." I said rather distantly. This topic also helped me unwind though I knew Vlad was soon getting tired hearing about it.

"Is it really so important to know this?" Vlad asked. I was a scientist as much as Vlad and always wanted to better understand the powers we received. While I was puzzled as to the true reason why we also got light green bluish mint colored skin, red eyes and fangs, I had an additional theory to throw out into the air.

"Maybe one day our studying this might give us a clue about some of the other ghostly beings we deal with. Who knows, but getting back to our looks I guessed that fangs might be an evolutionary trait maybe triggered by excessive ecto energy. I am told our cavemen ancestors had longer pointier canines eons ago. The red glowing eyes may have resulted because the explosion removed the melanin to make our eyes redder and glow due to the concentrated blast of ecto energy that hit us during the explosion. The skin glow might be the extra energy trapped inside of us. That still makes more sense than the outfits. Again all just guesswork." I explained.

"It makes more sense explaining how the explosion gave us these different body features, but not a new clothing wardrobe." Vlad said smiling with a grin.

"What if these so called "ghosts" we've been fighting were actually descendants of beings that had been exposed to a naturally occurring source of ecto energy? One would think they could transform like we could but maybe that was an evolutionary trait that was lost over time." I theorized. Vlad looked puzzled at me.

"What exactly are you getting at?" He asked. He didn't like to guess and wanted to hear where I was going with this.

"I think understanding our looks are important as this creature was exposed to this same energy as we were. Danny's exposure was less traumatic because he didn't experience unfiltered raw ecto energy as we did so his body wasn't damaged in the transformation which caused the Ecto Acne with us." I suspected the creature's physiology may have been altered by blast. The creature never commented on its appearance however.

"Well then why can't the creatures transform? At least they haven't done this yet as far as I know." Vlad asked looking to me for the answer. He loved shooting his own theories out about the effects of portal energy on evolution of organic matter but when I was on a roll, he preferred to hear my take on the subject.

Perhaps something in human DNA allows us to transform but the creature cannot do this. Or maybe it simply hasn't learned it can do this yet. Actually that might be a good thing as if it changed on us it could complicated our efforts to catch it." I added. I couldn't begin to imagine how complicated it would be to have to deal with a creature that could change its appearance. As I was pondering the idea

I suddenly sensed Danny's ghost signature coming towards us. I was curious why he hadn't merged back with his physical body.

"Danny, how come you're not back in your body?" I asked rather puzzled.

"It turns out it's more work maintaining a duplicate in physical form than I thought. I'm having to keep my physical body resting and then try again or wait until my duplicate comes home and we merge." He explained. I knew he needed to stay invisible to reduce his energy while he recuperated. I also knew he wouldn't be able to sense how his duplicate was doing while he was recovering.

"Well I better send a duplicate of me to check on you and see how you're doing. It's the least I can do after the amazing feat you pulled getting the ectoplasm out of my blood." I offered.

"Go ahead and see but I doubt it will be pretty." Danny replied. I smiled at Vlad and he nodded. I truly wanted to spend some alone time with him but he knew Danny needed my moral support. I am so relieved he is much more empathic of Danny's needs since he's been staying with us. The Fruitloop fighting and banter really went down to a minimum between those too. I hoped and prayed it would stay that way.

I teleported an invisible duplicate of me to Caspar High school grounds. I noticed they had a morning recess so I hovered around till I sensed Danny's human duplicate signature which was rather weak. This was something new for Danny as usually he could only duplicate in ghost form. I floated down and saw a dazed looking version of Danny with Nathan trying to cover for him. Dash was there just staring at him with a genuinely concerned expression.

"OK Fenton, you're freaking me out. Nothing I say or do to you is getting a reaction. What the heck is wrong with you!?" Dash yelled at Danny who only returned a vacant facial expression. His eyes looked glazed and he had a half formed smile on his face. He didn't even move his eyes to look at Dash as he answered.

"I'm fine Dash, how are you?" Duplicate Danny replied as Nathan facepalmed his hand to his forehead in exasperation. Danny really did act mental as he hadn't fully developed more thinking functionality to his human duplicate. I suspected Nathan had to rely on imaginative excuses just to keep Dash from going to the nurses station to express concern that Danny was ill. If a bully like Dash could be concerned, Danny must truly be looking out of it.

"We studied extra hard for the upcoming mid-term. Badger's just having a bit of a burn out is all." Nathan said trying to explain away Danny's odd behavior.

"Whatever. See ya Fenturd!" Dash said as he shook his head and walked off looking a bit freaked out by the whole thing. Nathan had to practically grab Danny by the shoulder and guide him around the playground. Danny managed to walk when nudged but once Nathan was still, Danny stood still like a zombie version of himself. When we were alone Nathan looked in my direction.

"Mom, I'm so glad you're OK. Vlad text me and let me know the moment you were released. We were so worried about you." Nathan whispered trying to keep his voice volume and emotion in check. After the fiasco I had with the GIW none of us wanted to show any unusual behavior that might look suspicious like talking to an invisible ghost. I saw out of the corner of my eye what looked like a freshman walking up to Danny with a box of cookies.

"Oh no, it's Tess. She's been trying to sell cookies all year. Danny looks so dazed she probably thinks he's an easy target today." Nathan said regrettably as Danny just stared blankly. I saw the girl run up to him. She had blond hair, freckles and braces. I could tell Danny was weakening further and hopefully his real self would be able to teleport merging with his physical duplicate soon.

"Hey Danny, would you like to buy some cookies? It will help fund me to a trip to a school in Europe for a week...it means the world to me." Tess said.

"Would I like to buy some cookies?" Danny asked back to Tess blankly. At this point all Nathan could do was be silent and pray the conversation ended soon.

"That's what I just asked you. I'll ask again, would you like to buy some cookies?" She asked more determined than spooked out by Danny's odd behavior.

"Yes, have some." Danny answered. A totally zombie answer if zombies could talk. She stared confused at Danny and looked at Nathan with a questioning gaze.

"He's zoned out over too much studying. I recommend asking him again tomorrow after he's had a good night's sleep." Nathan advised and the girl just rolled her eyes and walked off.

"You apparently need to practice your duplication technique more. This is just plain freaky Badger." Nathan complained. I could tell he was getting rather annoyed with Danny's inability to even carry on a normal conversation.

"I'm a freaky Badger." Was Danny's half present response. He was worse off than I had suspected. Fortunately I sensed his original but currently invisible self floating toward us until I sensed his ghost core floating over his physical duplicate and then Danny's eyes lit up with sudden comprehension and he exhaled.

"Man, it was so hard to merge this time. Physical duplicates are way more taxing." Danny complained as he felt his hands and face. He began to form a sweat as if he had run a marathon.

"Glad to have you back Badger." Nathan said with a chuckle as Sam and Tucker walked up to him. Sam looked a bit miffed. I was soon to find out why.

"Are you finally going to stop ignoring us? I was in a heated debate with Paulina about vegetarian options on the school menu and I expected you to come and have my back even though I know you eat meat." Sam complained.

"I wasn't fully here. What you saw all this morning was my physical albeit somewhat mindless duplicate. I had to do a mission and needed to send a physical duplicate to school." Danny explained to Sam. She raised her eyebrows and Tucker looked surprised.

"OK now that explains things. I wondered why it seemed like Nathan was practically leading you around the school. You looked freaky in Lancer's class. So freaky I'm guessing he avoided calling on you." Tucker said.

"I can barely even absorb anything my duplicate experienced. This must've taken out more of my strength than I thought." Daniel exclaimed.

"We'll have to practice more on duplication once we can use the training room again." Nathan advised Danny. I was exhausted just looking at him when he was acting out of it. As I was preparing to float off I saw Nathan lean in close to Sam and Tucker.

"By the way, my mom's here but she's invisible. Don't wave but she's right in front of us." Nathan whispered.

"Hi Mrs. Masters. Glad you're back out of the GIW crazy camp." Sam said in a whisper.

"Yeah, we were worried we might have to bust you out...using technology of course." Tucker said proudly.

"I'm just glad to be back and away from that crazy place. I seriously think the laws need to be changed. The GIW is just so paranoid and I think over reacting to the ghost problem." I complained but in a cautious whisper. The GIW's handling of ghosts ranged from incompetent to extreme to borderline ridiculous. At that moment an announcement came over the school grounds speaker.

"Remember class to have your parents to share their experiences tomorrow during Career Day. This will be an extra credit assignment for all parents who participate. Remember that each parent has a minimum of 3 minutes and a maximum of 5 minutes to share. Please be sure your parents arrive by 9 am." Lancer spoke over the intercom. Danny's eyes bulged.

"Oh my God, I totally forgot about Career Day tomorrow!" Danny cringed as he thought about it. I guess he was understandably concerned that his dad might do something to mess things up for him again and cause Lancer to assign Danny extra homework.

"You think you have it rough? I have to worry if my dad will talk about his dream to become a secret agent and give up his desk job." Tucker said worriedly.

"Yeah, well try living with two cheery looking parents that just invest in businesses that have sunny dispositions and clothing companies with bright colors. I live with this family!" Sam lamented.

"I still am worried that my dad might do something to screw things up for me...again!" Danny said with regret. He was proud of his dad and hated to see him mess up and incur the wrath of Lancer.

"Don't worry Badger, you mom will have all the tech this time so nothing should happen that would mean extra homework for you." Nathan said confidentially.

"I better call and remind dad. Mom usually remembers but dad not so much." Danny said as he picked up his phone and speed dialed to home. His mom answered as he switched the phone to speaker mode.

"Hey sweetie, what's up?" Maddie answered.

"Mom, I'm just calling you to remind you and dad about the upcoming Career Day tomorrow and wondered what you have planned." Danny asked a bit nervously.

"Well, I'm not letting your dad touch any of the ecto equipment as I promised to your teacher, so Mr. Lancer needn't worry about any incidents like the last time." Maddie replied. Danny had a worried look on his face at the mere reminder of his dad's past incidents.

"Do you think it's such a good idea to come tomorrow with all the problems we've had with this latest ghost?" Danny reminded. He didn't feel 100 percent assured it was safe for his parents to leave the house even though the ghost shield was up.

"Don't be silly sweetie. I'm not going to let some dumb ghost to keep us from talking about and sharing what we love to do." Maddie replied. I felt bad for Danny. I still found it difficult to believe Lancer was OK with the Fentons coming to the school after the foaming incident months earlier. I heard Jack's voice on the line.

"Hey kiddo. Don't worry about your old man. I'm letting your mom carry all the goodies to class." I heard Jack's voice saying over the phone trying to reassure his son.

"T-that's great dad. Say can I call you back." Danny was a bit distracted when he looked over the playground and thought he saw something. I looked in that direction but didn't focus on anything out of the ordinary, still I kept glancing in that direction just in case.

"Sure son, we'll all have a great time tomorrow. Oops, gotta run as I think one of my experiments is acting up!" Jack replied and hung up the phone. Danny gulped at the thought of experiments gone wrong in the past and hoped his dad wouldn't mess things up. I could tell Danny was equally distracted and suspicious of the creature sneaking back onto the school grounds. It had been laying quiet for some time and I was wondering what it was up to and when it might strike next. Hopefully it might be lured eventually to the unit that was left in the Ghost Zone.

"I wish I could go invisible on Career Day." Danny slumped his shoulders as he thought about it. Nathan looked at me as Sam put a hand on Danny's shoulder to comfort him.

"It'll be alright Danny. And I'm sure that the ghost creature wont be able to bother your house while you're gone. It's been staying pretty quiet and probably wont show up for a while." Sam said trying to reassure Danny.

"Yeah dude, you got nothing to worry about. And just remember, if you ever need us Team Phantom can come to help." Tucker said. I heard a bit of disappointment in his voice. He knew Team Phantom hadn't been the same kind of team since Danny was under Masters house rules, but they helped in other ways working to help fight off the ghosts.

"I hope you're right." Danny replied. I then saw Nathan turn to me.

"Mom, just out of curiosity what will you be talking about?" Nathan asked. I hadn't really had a chance to rehearse a speech in front of him since being locked up at the GIW facility.

"Well, I will be talking about the importance of secretarial work which is often an under-appreciated career." I replied. Nathan cast a questioning look at me.

"Mom? Secretarial work? How can that be a dream job?" Nathan asked in disbelief. I chuckled at his reaction which further proved my point how secretarial work has been miscast as a boring job by some.

"Nathan, a secretarial position is a very important task in the workforce. It's the heartbeat of the company that helps keep the company flowing smooth and organized. As secretaries, we are responsible to make sure everyone remembers their meetings, gets important messages and type company memos which are just a few important tasks that we do. As with any job, there are those who enjoy doing this as well as those who enjoy other types of careers." I replied hoping to explain to him that just because it was my dream job didn't mean it had to be his. The position in itself however remains an important one.

"OK, I get it. It can be an important job, it just isn't what I'm interested in." Nathan confessed. Nathan was more into researching nanotechnology and computer programming, which were two areas of his dad's expertise. As I looked at Nathan I noticed a blue mist coming out of his and Danny's mouth.

"Oh oh, dude...I hope it's not the Lunch Lady ghost again!" Tucker commented as he saw the mist and looked around to see if he could spot what ghost was coming. I was more concerned of the timing as I knew they were both in school right now and couldn't go ghost. I had to step in.

"Guys, you're still at school so I should take this one." I said. I knew that Danny especially missed going ghost on the spur of the moment as I also knew that Nathan loved to go ghost as well, but this was school hours and so it was my turn to save the day. I dodged behind the side of the school building and transformed into a visible appearance as Carolyn Plasmius.

"Mom, you just got back from a harrowing ordeal, are you sure you're up to this?" Nathan asked. I knew it just wasn't that he sensed I was still tired from the arrest and detainment at the GIW, Nathan wanted to go ghost very badly but I had to handle this. As I looked over the back of the school yard where Danny looked earlier I saw a large dinosaur like ghost begin to appear. It was as long as two school buses and as high as about 5 feet. I refused to let it intimidate me.

"Watch and see." By the way baby, do you or Danny have a half a sandwich you don't mind sacrificing?" I asked. They both looked at me puzzled.

"You picked a crazy time to want to get a snack!" Danny said as he had a half PB&J sandwich he had teleported out of the classroom. He had gotten pretty good with focusing on items of his and teleporting them to him on the fly.

"It's not for me." I took the a half of one of the sandwiches from him and then flew over to the dinosaur. Kids were running and screaming as the beast turned and roared in the school's direction. I flew up to about 10 feet from the thing with my shield up if as it tried to swat at me and then threw a sandwich through a shield opening toward the creature's mouth. The creature sniffed the sandwich with its red eyes looking at it curiously and then reached as its purple tongue out, lapping up the sandwich as it then swallowed it whole. The dino creature then seemed to act like it was having a sugar rush and began to run around in circles. It then rolled over and disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Aunt Carolyn, how did you know that would work?" Danny asked as he looked stunned at me at what just transpired.

"I didn't, but I prefer to try to reason with these beings rather than just firing ecto shots at them. I know this method wont always work, but I like to try when it seems possible." I replied. As soon as I had spoken the beast materialized again this time with 10 smaller versions of itself. I guessed it was a mom and this was its offspring.

"I'm teleporting to the mansion and coming right back so don't worry." I assured Danny and the others. Sam and Tucker were also looking at the spectacle with more awe than fear and I teleported to appear inside the mansion kitchen and grabbed a loaf of bread and some peanut butter jam mix and teleported back to the school. I threw 5 slices of break down and quickly spread the PB&J mix across the top slices and then sliced the slices in half leaving 10 sections. I then tossed the snacks at the little ghost dinosaurs who came and gobbled the treats up quickly and then all of them disappeared and didn't return for some time. I breathed a sigh of relief as I flew back toward Danny and the gang.

"Whoa, that was some quick thinking." Sam commented.

"Some ghosts are just creatures that do not wish to cause any trouble for anyone, I just wish I could get Maddie and Jack to see that." I spoke with some regret. I wondered why they had such a strong feeling against ghosts. Then Danny enlightened me with a story.

"My explained to me once that when she was little, a ghost that looked like a squid used to haunt our sea community, terrorizing the town and causing general havoc. It was what both got my mom interested in and also, hating ghosts." Danny revealed. It all made sense now to see her anger when facing a ghost. She had believed all ghosts to be bad because of the threat that one ghost had made in her home town.

"Well, hopefully she will one day realize that not all ghosts are out to get anyone." I replied as I then heard the bell ring and everyone began to head in. I decided to turn invisible and floated back to the mansion as I felt drained from dealing with the creature. As I phased through the front door of the mansion I transformed back into my human self and checked the messages. They were all the usual messages about upcoming meetings and some complaints until I came across a very unexpected message from Skulker.

"Plasmius, this is Skulker. I need to ask you a question. Someone calling themselves the Time Wrangler approached me and offered me a bounty for capturing you. I declined due to conflict of interest. I knew he wasn't able to offer me as much as you have for hiring me on occasion. I just thought I should let you know. Anyway, please see me sometime soon in the Ghost Zone." Skulker said on the recorder. My jaw dropped. I wasn't surprised that the Time Wrangler would make such a low move. I knew that Skulker generally didn't like leaving messages on any phone so this was pretty unsettling. I had to find Vlad to alert him. I didn't sense his signature at home at the moment so I quickly text him to let him know what Skulker had said.

"Vlad, Mr S. was approached by the Time Wrangler who offered a bounty for the capture of Vlad Plasmius." 'Mr. S.' was the codeword for Skulker. I had to text the message in a way that wouldn't infer I was speaking directly about my Vlad. I didn't know whether or not the GIW could intercept text messages and I wasn't taking the chance.

"I'll be right there." Vlad text a reply and then in less than a minute, Vlad appeared out of his mist in his human form and dressed in his usual favorite dark back suit. He came over to me and I played back the message Skulker had left.

"Well it doesn't surprise me. The Time Wrangler was very adamant about dealing with me and unfortunately you as well as Daniel. As you recall he deeply resents the fact that you changed my timeline even though that change was by accident." Vlad replied. I thought on what he said and the more I thought about that Wrangler's motives, the more I suspected it pointed to some hidden agenda.

"What do you think the real reason is that the Time Wrangler is so upset about the changed timeline? I wonder if your altered timeline changed something for him, something he lost because of his ability to remember altered realities?" I theorized. Vlad looked at the recorder and seemed to think about what I had said.

"I suppose we may never know." Vlad said sounding somewhat regretful that this was an unanswerable question.

"Or maybe someone could ask him?" I suggested. There had to be a bigger motive for the Time Wrangler than just to fix the timeline. I bet it was something very important or maybe someone that he lost as a result of my interference.

"I don't know who that someone could be. Clockwork may have a clue, but I don't know if Clockwork will want to get involved. I suppose I could secretly arrange Skulker to ask him since he probably wont divulge this detail seeing as he hasn't already." Vlad suggested.

"Well, I doubt there's anyone as able to trap a half-ghost as Skulker and he turned down the Time Wrangler, so I say while it's a concern let's focus right now on what we'll talk about for Career Day tomorrow." I offered. I knew that what Skulker said was unsettling but it did not have to dictate our lives with fear. Vlad had dealt with threats from angry ghosts accusing Vlad of stealing their territory to competing companies that tried to threaten Vlad to resign as CEO albeit unsuccessfully. We were thick skinned and well used to this stuff.

"I have a presentation I've put together and timed it to make sure it stays within the 5 minutes. Have you prepared anything?" Vlad asked.

"I have one I'm doing on the importance of secretaries. It's an unappreciated career that I need to stress as it is still an important career for someone with the right skills and interests." I replied. I saw Vlad looking distracted at his phone.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm trying to do a business assessment to find ghosts with special powers who can help some of Vladco's mining operations." Vlad replied. That was something he and I used to do before he obtained companies that did the work for us.

"So this is why you are keeping your career speech limited to your work as mayor?" I said jokingly.

"I am very careful in what I say, but I can't be too careful after that little predicament with the GIW. I hope you're continuing to lay low." Vlad replied as he turned on the TV. I didn't mention about the dinosaur ghost at school as I felt it probably wouldn't get noticed enough to make a news story. When the news came on it was Harriet Chin talking about the recent protests over the malfunctioning traffic lights that were now fixed. Then when I saw the next image I froze.

"There was a green dinosaur like ghost that was spotted at Caspar High school earlier today. Reports came in that Carolyn Plasmius had managed to avert an attack by feeding the creature snacks." Harriet Chin reported. My jaw dropped and Vlad looked at the TV and then me with a raised eyebrow. I didn't think it would be so newsworthy. I shrugged my shoulders to try to defuse the tension I could now sensed developing between us.

"Well hon, at least no one can prove it was me." I said jokingly but somehow I sensed that Vlad was not amused. He gave me one of his intense looks at me and I knew that a lecture was coming. I really didn't want to make a fuss over this but tensions were high after GIW more so than the Time Wrangler and the creature combined.

"Sweetheart, you know I warned you to be careful. What if someone saw you transform?" Vlad cautioned in his overprotective tone. I shook my head and stood my ground.

"With all the enemies we have fought and those I have managed to negotiate not to fight, I look at the GIW as just another adversary that is misguided. If I am not allowed to continue to fight the ghosts facing Amity I jeopardize Danny's ability to function at school with one less ghost fighter coming to carry the torch against these beings. Can we really jeopardize his future because some mismanaged government agency has become our newest antagonist?" I challenged Vlad. I knew how much it meant to Vlad regarding Danny's future. Even in the new timeline Vlad still loved Danny like he was his own son. In the old timeline that love was twisted into turning Danny into an evil apprentice. But it was therapy more than the timeline that was making the real difference with Vladimir.

"Very well honey, just be careful. I don't want to lose you." Vlad replied almost pleadingly. I suppose I should accept him being a bit clingy and possessive of me. He was that way with Madeline after all. In a way I am experiencing all the things Madeline would've experienced had she chosen Vlad over Jack. I was glad for both our sakes she chose Jack. I am not certain she would be up to the challenge of dealing with Vlad as a husband and I knew even if he hadn't lied in that one timeline, she very well may have still tossed him through a portal into the Ghost Zone. It took a very special kind of love to put up with my Fruitloop.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 More than a Job

**Klaatu: I want to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews. This last chapter was a bit long but I felt I needed to make a thorough explanation of the creature and its limits in its current universe. This was a very difficult chapter to write but I needed to come up with a plan to focus on the creature's capture. I also addressed an interesting angle as to why Maddie and Jack are so hateful of ghosts. I felt I needed to draw on their character reasoning and so I explored this in greater depth.**

**As for our creature, this next chapter will deal with re-uniting the creature to his missing mate. The missing mate as you know was the original creature that first became known in the story. In this chapter strategies will complicate as the Time Wrangler prepares to capture Carolyn Plasmius. To complicate matters, Jack and Maddie are now after the new creature as well. **

**I also decided to address the issue that has been hinted at in the Danny Phantom universe which involves the threat of the GIW to Danny's and the Masters' family's freedom. The GIW seems to be of the same mindset that all ghosts are considered threats and need to be neutralized. I drew on inspiration from lot of watching X-Men and related shows where mutants are considered a threat and are outlawed. As always, review and enjoy.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Checkmate or Endgame.

Vlad's POV

It was evening and I was having writer's block with the presentation. I had rehearsed it enough but felt something was missing and needed to give it more pizazz. Nathaniel and Daniel came home from school early today as it was a half day. This gave extra time to prepare for the Career Day presentations tomorrow as parents were encouraged to practice their presentations to their kids and get critiques as needed. Carolyn did a presentation rehearsal earlier in front of Nathan while Daniel went over to his house and listened to his parents' presentation. I secretly hoped that Maddie would be doing most of the talking. Jack has been known to get carried away when he talks about ghosts and Maddie is aware of this. Still it isn't up to me but I hope Jack doesn't do anything to embarrass Daniel this time.

Daniel, although spending the night as his house decided to Skype with me to hear my presentation. He felt it was the least he could do for all the help I and my family had been giving him in training, tutoring as wells as sharing of the ghost hunting responsibilities so his grades could radically improve. I sat on the computer and began a Skype session waiting for Daniel to pick up.

"Hello...Vlad?" Daniel answered. I noticed him holding a book on training to becoming an astronaut. I could tell he was taking the subject much more seriously since his grades improved.

"I need some feedback for my presentation I'm giving tomorrow. Nathaniel heard my speech on being Mayor but I could tell it was less than thrilling to him." I confessed. I wanted the career as mayor to stand out and needed to hit that magic delivery to make it sound better.

"Don't worry, I saw the presentation Nathaniel recorded. It looks great. I think you're just a bit nervous about it." Daniel replied. I was thinking about it a bit much for tomorrow and never thought of myself as being nervous doing public speaking. Maybe what I needed was a break from everything.

"Perhaps I just need to unwind in the Ghost Zone, do you feel like coming?" I asked. The ecto energy from the Zone was very calming and recharged my ghost core. I had already made the offer to everyone else and they were busy; Carolyn with practicing her speech and Nathaniel with some extra credit homework. I was hoping Daniel might want to come as I hated just going by myself.

"Yeah why not, I like visiting the Zone now and then. I'll be over in a little bit." Daniel replied as we finished Skype and I sensed he needed some time away from his family. He had mentioned how much clingier his family had gotten which was understandable but it was also driving him up the wall. He didn't want to appear rude and always prepared an excuse that Nathan needed to tutor him which was in fact the truth except he left out the part about half-ghost training. He didn't feel comfortable revealing his secret of his ghost half and sometimes just needed to come over and unwind without any fear of hiding his powers.

About 20 minutes later I heard a knock on the door and sensed Daniel's signature before I even came to the door. I didn't want him to feel pressured to come with me on my trips to the Zone, but I was glad he was going to be there today. As he came in he saw my whiteboard with my cartoon presentation drawn out describing my mayoral duties. He chuckled to himself and often accused me of overdoing things. I can't help it if I grew up with a 'perfectionist' dad.

I told Carolyn I was doing a routine visit of the Ghost Zone with Daniel and she raised a brief complaint of concern but realized that I needed Zone time to unwind so she relented. I gave her a grateful kiss as I then headed to the study with Daniel to the portal. As we both transformed and entered the portal I noticed the area to hyperspace had seemed to have moved up about 200 feet further from the Zone entrance. Daniel and I shot up quickly to the layer that would hide us from the ghosts while allowing us to spy on them. I felt safer in this hidden area above where the Ghost Zone existed. I spotted a dark area of hyperspace that was reflective and briefly saw an image of myself. I chuckled to myself noticing how different I looked in costume and appearance as opposed to Daniel.

"My wife and I had a long discussion about why our looks and outfits are so different than yours. I know Nathan is still adjusted to his changed appearance." I commented as we floated and looked around as some random ghosts were soaring below us going to God knows where.

"Nathan and I had a long discussion about that the other day including sharing Aunt Carolyn's theories with me." Daniel confessed. I wasn't surprised the matter would come up after Nathan's looks changed. Still I felt the need to talk about it further.

"You're probably not interested in hearing it all again." I confessed. I knew boring Daniel with a topic he already talked about at length wasn't going to boost my confidence for public speaking tomorrow.

"That's OK Fruitloop, go ahead and reiterate. Nathan might've left something out." Daniel replied unexpectedly. I was delighted he was willing to listen to me. I needed to get my mind off of my other speech happening tomorrow.

"Well as you already know, Carolyn and I think that our looks are a result of the way we received our powers as opposed to you. Ours were exposure of a more catastrophic nature that shocked our systems into a stranger adaptation than you. She feels because our bodies had been exposed to impure ecto elements from the diet soda inhibiting proper filtration of the portal energy. She suggested in so many words that our bodies defenses reacted by creating a more protective layer of ecto clothing and our bodies changed more drastically to cope with the physical trauma of the portal blast." I explained. Daniel nodded in agreement. Although he was exposed to energy initially, the ecto purifier in his dad's lab was properly filtering out bad energy, thus his exposure was less severe than ours.

"That makes sense, but Nathan didn't get hit with any portal blast. We each had our ideas why he changed to look like you, but what is your take on this?" Daniel asked.

"The impact from the portal blast must've triggered our DNA and thus Nathaniel inherited that effect even though he never experienced a portal blast of energy. I admit the look can be a bit intimidating but on the positive note, I do believe it makes us all look devastatingly attractive." I boasted. I had seen the way women looked at me when I turned into Plasmius and use to fly around Amity from time to time. At first they were afraid and then began to show a look of genuine interest.

No offense Fruitloop but you sort of look a bit like the Morlocks in H.G. Well's 'The Time Machine', but in a good looking way if that makes any sense." Daniel replied. Carolyn and I were very good looking even though we had glowing red eyes, fangs and glowing light bluish almost green skin. Carolyn joked that we looked more like heavy metal punk rockers wearing blue sun tan lotion at the beach. Once we were even mistaken for part of a band group and had to convince the stage hands we were guests only.

"Did Nathan tell you about Carolyn's wilder theory about our ghost outfits?" I asked. I knew that it probably came up.

"Actually why don't you tell me?" Daniel replied. I guess he wanted to hear my spin on it. It was rather comical but in a way it made sense.

"Carolyn thinks that a clothing store may exist in the Ghost Zone. New comers are given a suit to fit their personal looks. We looked vampire-like so we get outfits leaning to that persona." I said with a chuckle.

"I gotta laugh when I heard Nathan talk about Carolyn's theory of a secret inter-dimensional clothing store" Daniel looked at me as we glided over the edge of hyperspace and watched the green swirling mass that made up the Ghost dimension.

"Well, it is rather curious Daniel. Aside from the clothing I see my family all has the extreme hairdo changes of the upward hair divided into a near 'V' like shape. When I transform it resembles more like my old mullet from college only raised up as if being held up by static electricity." I added.

"Yeah, it's like you get a new hairdo with wardrobe. I still think the clothing store idea is an incredibly funny notion. I also sorta thought your looks might be age related as well. You're older than me and maybe I will look more like your persona when I age. I don't care as long as I get to stay good looking." Daniel chuckled. I doubted his eyes would turn red and skin become glowing blue, but I did believe that he would eventually get fangs as he aged. If he did then he would have to have a special type of toothbrush and toothpaste when he reached that stage in his life. I already had a spare toothbrush and toothpaste set aside for the occasion should he need it.

"You may be correct Little Badger but I feel your looks may be more limited to getting fangs and possibly skin tone change." I added. I rather liked my fangs and of course Carolyn seems to love my ghost look at times even more than my regular look. I also notice she gets extremely jealous when some female ghosts in the Ghost Zone take a flirtatious glance at me not to mention human women as well. She wont openly admit to this but I noticed it.

"Maybe it's like you said though, you and Aunt Carolyn got your powers in a less elegant more traumatic way than I did." Daniel commented. As I thought about what he was saying I heard musical letters being sounded off in the distance. I focused with my super ghost hearing to be sure, and then I was convinced it was the keyboard unit!

"Daniel, do you hear that?" I asked. He focused on it and turned his head as I could tell he was starting to focus on the sound as well.

"That's gotta be the keyboard!" Daniel's eyes grew wide with excitement. As we both continued to listen there were other musical sounds and it sounded like rehearsal before a concert. Hopefully our spectral 'friend' would sense the field from the unit and be lured over to it. In every sense it was like fishing except using the field of the unit that similar to the creature to draw it to the device and eventually become an opportunity to hopefully capture it once and for all.

"We need to move closer to where this 'concert' is playing while remaining hidden in hyperspace. Follow my lead." I suggested to Daniel as I veered my flight pattern in the direction where I sensed the music was coming from.

I knew we were headed the right direction as the sounds became gradually louder. I looked through a swirling mass of green cloud that was in front of us which slowly began to dissipate and there in the distance was Ember playing with the keyboard with Technus watching. I then saw Ember hand the keyboard to a strange spider like looking ghost as big as a person. It began to jam on the keys with 6 of its 8 arms making fairly impressive music with it. As multiple keys were pressed to make chords, Carolyn had programmed the keyboard to only say one alphabetic letter by default which also showed on the screen. Still there was no sign of the creature yet, but I did notice a blur the distance but couldn't yet make it out. Then I noticed something rather odd, a ripple began to emerge in hyperspace whenever the keys of the keyboard were being pressed. It would vanish between keys and then reappear again.

"Daniel, do you see that ripple that keeps appearing?" I asked pointing to the left of us in hyperspace. He looked as the ripple appeared again each time notes were pressed. Then I saw what looked like a couple of red glowing orbs during the opening of the ripple.

"That's strange, I thought I noticed red eyes staring through the ripple for a moment." Daniel commented. I looked back over to the ripple and squinted trying to focus my eyes. When a note was hit again, the ripple opened and the eyes were more defined. Then the spider ghost pressed and held some keys down for a time and the ripple not only quivered open but began to glow a bright whitish blue. Then Ember walked over to the spider ghost.

"C'mon baby pop, let's make this thing louder." She said as she took an extension chord with two prongs and tried to phase the prongs to the negative and positive ends of the speaker. I was concerned as the unit wasn't designed for additional power to amplify it but thankfully Carolyn had a power regulator that would shut down the unit temporarily if it overheated from a power surge.

"Ember, that might not be a good idea!" Technus advised. Of course Technus knew one of the main rules of electronics 101 was never attempt to amplify a unit by putting more wattage through it than it was rated for. Ember did not care however and ignoring Technus' warning held the wires until they began to fade and phase into the keyboard speaker. Upon doing this sparks began to shoot out and an unusual arc of electricity shot up directly at the ripple and there was a blinding flash of light. She must have tried to pump an insane amount of electricity into the speaker!

"Ember! What did you do?!" Shouted Technus as the unit smoked after shutting down. I prayed that no permanent damage had occurred to it. As I looked up toward the ripple, the ripple now had strange sparkles dancing around it as if the arc from the keyboard charged it somehow. Out of the ripple emerged a creature similar in looks to the one that was plaguing us. It was the size of a dolphin and had sparkling energy dancing through its body as if also effected by the charge that apparently hit it as well. It had two red eyes, a dark gray skin and a lighter gray ribbon of fin-like material in place of where hair might be on a person. It had a face that, well looked a lot like me even with a rectangular chin but it was some kind of fish being.

"That creature kind of looks like you Vlad. That is, if you were a dolphin." Daniel commented. There was a light gray marking above its two eyes near the widow's peak of it's forehead. It had a black appendage above each eye that resembled an eyebrow. It had 3 fins on each side and a tail fin like a dolphin but with longer fin appendages on the bottom. I grabbed my phone and took some silent snapshots.

"Daniel, do you think this might be related to the creature that has been bothering us?" I asked.

"It kind of looks like that other creature, although the color of the eyes were different but then that was a holographic recreation that the creature was making of itself. The third eye might simply be nothing more than a marking like the one this has." Daniel analyzed.

The creature flew out of the ripple and looked around hyperspace. I could tell it noticed the keyboard but seemed skittish of it since it was hit by a blast of energy when the keyboard shorted out. It seemed to act a bit dazed as if it couldn't focus well and then it hid behind a nearby greenish cloud.

"It's looks really scared." I said. I knew a bit how it felt. I was very traumatized when the portal blast hit me in the face. The shock of it wore off but then the blisters which at first I thought were burns appearing on my face and then the nausea was terrifying. At first a thought I had been nuked by the thing.

"If that creature is the same creature that has been bugging us, I can see why our earlier creature was so traumatized when it looked at you. Maybe it thought you were it's companion." Daniel commented. I do remember feeling something following me down the hall besides Carolyn who was behind me. So why did it choose to follow me unless...

"Daniel, what if that creature didn't just believe the portal wiped out its kind. What if that creature may have been injured and gotten its own version of Ecto Acne just like me?" I asked him.

"Well that would explain why it hid for a while and tried to avoid human contact. I've read about injured dolphins that wouldn't let scuba divers near but would just keep swimming away." Daniel replied. Even though I couldn't tell visibly if it suffered from any Ecto Acne, I knew from what I had seen on nature shows that dolphins are very sensitive to sunlight and sunburn easily. The portal blast may have not only given it this condition, it may have actually burned the creature assuming it is in some way similar to a dolphin.

"I feel at times the spectral acne felt more like ecto radiation burns." The acne did resemble more like blisters from second degree burns as well as being both painful and itching.

The creature popped out of hiding in the green cloud and then did something none of us expected, it moved its tail fin in a circle until a green glowing portal-like sphere of energy appeared and then it flew into the sphere and disappeared.

"Did that creature just make a portal and jump somewhere else?" Daniel asked.

"It must have. And it's possible that it jumped into our world, but I couldn't say for sure or begin to know where to look." I replied. I looked back at the unit where Ember and Technus were as Ember pulled and phased the wires out of the keyboard. Once removed I heard the unit start to crackle back to life but that was the least of my concerns now, that creature was loose and most likely in the human world.

"Daniel, we need to get back and tell everyone what we saw." I suggested and Daniel nodded.

"I'm still curious where our 'she' creature is? Maybe she's in our world and hopefully the creature we just saw will find her and let her know that he is OK and wasn't killed by the portal blast." Daniel added.

"The problem now is it was zapped by energy from the keyboard. I can't say for sure if it was injured by it though, however it may be extra scared from the event. I'm debating about stealing the keyboard and bringing it to the human world." I added. This turn of events had only left things more complicated.

"Maybe we should make a second unit to stay in the human world. Then we have two of them to attract them and thus increase our chances." Daniel advised. I was impressed with his strategy.

"Daniel, you're brilliant!" I bragged. I was surprised I had not thought of this before but realized I was too overtaken with emotion after watching the creature get zapped. Watching anything getting zapped by an object had an affect on me for obvious reasons.

We flew back through the Zone and through the ghost portal back to the mansion. Daniel immediately ran to Nathan to be the first to tell him what he had seen while I hurried to Carolyn.

"Honey, you'll never believe what I found!" I told her as I ran up to the bedroom door and knocked frantically. She opened the door and looked a bit sleepy.

"What did you see?" She asked as I came in. I noticed she was dropping some index cards that looked like her presentation notes. I suspected she was probably practicing until near exhaustion as she was nervous talking in front of people.

"The rift appeared again in hyperspace when a spider creature was hitting notes on our keyboard. Then when Ember tried to plug a high watt speaker into it, a bolt of energy shot out of it and it something shot out of the ripple that looks similar to our creature. We think it might be the creature's mate." I explained. Carolyn raised an eyebrow when she heard this, the sleepiness in her expression had apparently completely worn off now.

"How do you know that it isn't actually the creature?" She asked.

"The holographic features of the original creature were distinct enough that I could tell this one was slightly different. Also, it didn't try to interact with the keyboard although admittedly it was spooked by it after the energy discharge I suspect. But that wasn't the strangest thing about this being." I concluded. Maybe it was my gut instinct but there was something different about this new creature we just spotted.

"What was so unusual about it?" Carolyn asked.

"Except for it being fish-like its facial features looked an awful lot like me, as a cross between my human self and my ghost self." Carolyn just stared at me like I had hit my head on something, but it was true. I pulled out my phone and hit on the icon that was the picture gallery. She looked at the image which was slightly blurry but was easily able to see the resemblance.

"Hmmm, handsome fish." She commented. It was rather dashing in the ways it resembled my own devastatingly handsome face. Its gray fin appendage around its head and sides reminded me of my hair, and the red glowing eyes were similar to when I was Vlad Plasmius. Its inverted trapezoid-like chin that was like an was also similar to mine. If it was dark enough I think it could have almost passed for the me at a brief glance.

"I guess our creature took a lot of interest in my dilemma since my facial features seem to resemble her mate, although I don't know how I feel about looking similar to a dolphin-like creature." I commented. This day just couldn't have gotten any stranger.

"Well on a similar note, regarding the detection of this latest creature or our original creature there has been nothing. I only saw a momentary blip on the ghost monitor but then sudden silence. There has been no indication of anything yet on any of our phones as well. It is as if the creature isn't in the Ghost Zone at all but may be I suspect, hiding somewhere in our world." Carolyn suggested.

"It would explain why the keyboard had been so long in the Ghost Zone but no sign of the either creature." I replied. I wondered about the momentary blip recorded on the monitor. Perhaps this latest creature had a similar frequency as both creatures had similar features, but I wasn't sure and we didn't yet have enough data on this being for me to feel confident about jumping to any conclusions.

"I overheard Danny telling Nathan that he wants to help us build a second unit to leave in this world to increase our chances of finding one or both of them." Carolyn added. I knew it would increase the odds to have one here.

"I think it's an excellent idea and we can work on that tonight..." I trailed off as I looked at Carolyn's face. I could tell she was concerned I hadn't practiced my presentation enough. It was hard to focus on that at the moment. As exciting as it was that we were closer to finding our creature, I knew it was still a big gamble and a wait that we might be able to attract the creature. Just as when I used to go fishing with my father, there would be a stubborn fish in the lake that saw our bait but wouldn't go near it. After the keyboard sparked at the the male creature I was certain it was spooked of the thing and was going to be afraid of the keyboard. If it found its mate, I feared it would probably warn it of the keyboard so it would stay away from any from it as well. The next keyboard would have to be a different color and possibly slightly different shape so that our unknown beings would sense its field and not be afraid of it. Then my thoughts focused back again on the presentation that I needed to practice.

"I know it's promising, but we need to focus on our presentations tomorrow. It's extra credit for Nathaniel and I know Daniel looks up us, you especially." Carolyn stated. Daniel's and my relationship was a complicated version of an extended father figure to a son. He still loved his own father but his dad would at times mess things up. I had messed up at times when I overstepped my authority thinking the "ends justified the means" and Daniel had to step in to confront me, yet I could still tell he wanted to look up to me. At times in my life I had unintentionally been the 'villain' though I never truly wanted to be. That was due to my father's upbringing more than anything but it didn't excuse my misbehavior. We would occasionally still get into some intense fights, but now lately not so much.

"I'll practice my speech. Nathaniel and Daniel can work on a second unit." I added as I kissed her on the cheek. As I walked back toward my private study I couldn't help but overhear Daniel and Nathaniel talk about the new creature we encountered.

"It was freaky Nathan! It looked a lot like your dad except it was a large fish-like creature." I overheard Daniel talking about the creature's unusual looks to Nathaniel.

"That's just too weird! I hope this being may be our creature's mate. Then it will know its companion didn't perish after all." Nathaniel replied. As I walked onward closing the door to my study I glanced back and noticed Nathaniel had a poster board illustrating the Ordovician period along with the extinction level event drawn on the poster. I suspected he was doing an extra credit project on this time since it was relevant to our creature. It undoubtedly even more intriguing to him since he suspected the creature did not come from our planet.

I began practicing on my speech but kept getting interrupted by Maddie the cat who somehow pushed through the door and ran up to my window and was clawing frantically as if something or someone was outside. I turned on a porch light but there was nothing there, yet Maddie was insistent. I often felt that animals had a sixth sense and could detect things we humans couldn't see. Maddie looked at the window and sat there staring as I continued working on my presentation. It was hard to focus with her sitting there staring as if she was seeing something outside. Eventually she calmed down and curled up to a pillow on the floor but kept looking out the window. I sensed that whatever was out there had left but I suspected it would probably return. Maybe it was only a mouse...or maybe it was something much more. As I practiced my speech a couple of times I heard Carolyn suddenly call me, her voice sounded desperate. I was so startled I teleported to our bedroom.

"Darling what is it?" I asked as I saw her sitting up in bed looking dazed and shocked.

"I had the strangest dream. I dreamt I was visiting you in the old timeline. It seemed so real. In one part of the timeline I saw you sad looking on a photo of Maddie while eating a box of chocolates. I told you things were going to change. Then I appeared in another piece of the old timeline and had to break up a fight with you and Danny. It all seemed so real." Carolyn confessed. I had never seen her looking so distraught.

"Honey, it was only a dream." I told her trying to calm her.

"But it seemed so real, not like a dream at all." Carolyn trailed off. I knew she was under a lot of stress.

"Let's not worry about it right now. We'll look into these dreams or whatever they are after the presentation tomorrow. Try to just go back to sleep but if it helps, have a pen and paper next the bed so you can keep a journal." I advised her. I knew based on so many of the odd events with the phone showing clips of the old timeline not to be too dismissive of anything.

"OK, honey I will. Sorry to disturb you sweetie." Carolyn smiled and looked too much like Maddie in the shadows. Her hair was fading to look more like the natural Auburn color of Maddie and it was so strange seeing her there. I was taken by her loving look and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead as she closed her eyes to go back to sleep. I returned to my study and tried to rehearse one more time but decided I had done enough. My plate was more than full with all the cares of the day and I needed rest for the speech tomorrow. My nerves were a bit frayed so I made some hot chamomile tea to relax me. I then slipped into a comfortable pajamas and headed to bed. I knew Carolyn could help relax me as well, though I hoped she didn't have any more disturbing dreams. We both needed rest for tomorrow as Career Day was happening early in the morning.

-Next Morning: Career Day-

As I arrived at school I felt nervous. I must have done thousands of speeches before bankers and investors as well as the general public, but for some reason I actually felt nervous today. Maybe it was the pressure of trying to find the creature that was projecting into my feelings or perhaps the unsettling dreams that Carolyn experienced. I was also nervous for Daniel. I saw his face tighten when he saw his dad come in with his signature orange jumpsuit. I silently prayed Jack wouldn't have any ghost weapons on him. He appeared not to so that was a relief. Carolyn was home practicing and trying to get over stage fright. She promised she would be there however and I left her space to practice as I left earlier this morning. As 9 am approached I saw her quickly enter into the classroom and sat down beside me. She still looked nervous and I reached over and held her hand to calm her. Mr. Lancer then entered the room.

"Greetings everyone. As you know today is Career Day. I am excited to see so many parents came to support this event and I want to thank you all. This sharing of your careers is so important in giving your sons and daughters an idea of what they may expect should they pursue such ambitions. As important as education is in the role of preparing kids for skills in the working world, experience is still by far the best teacher." Lancer said. I found myself feeling some degree of stage fright, perhaps I was feeling Carolyn's vibes. When Lancer finished, the first parent up was Paulina's dad Mr. Sanchez. I could also tell he was visibly nervous. I imagined having him see me probably didn't help since I was also his boss.

"I'm very grateful to be here today as I share with you my job as the Head of Security at Axion Labs." Mr. Sanchez announced. I began to feel a strange feeling as if something was outside looking in at us and examined in my peripheral vision to see if any ghosts were lurking about outside. I didn't see anything but was worried that either of the creatures might decide to pay a visit.

"When managing security, the company expects the one in charge of it all to be ultimately responsible for preventing as well as mitigating any threats from break-ins, corporate sabotage or hackers to name a few. Threat management should only be done by trained professionals and not by those with good intentions and fancy gadgets." Mr. Sanchez eyed his daughter who then sank in her chair. She had been grounded when he found out she was the Red Huntress and confiscated her high tech hover board and weapons. I am grateful she didn't rat me out as being the supplier of that gear, but I maintained my distance after her father laid down the law.

After Mr. Sanchez speech drew to a close, I felt my phone seems to vibrate briefly for just a moment. I picked it up and took a quick glance at it but oddly there was no text message or alert. I guessed the phone was just having a glitch. As I was about to put it back in my pocket it vibrated again a couple more times. As I glanced at it this time it read the notification 'Creature in Vicinity'. The timing couldn't have been worse. There appeared a bluish glow that was viewable from the door window to the classroom. It was the male fish creature whose face somewhat resembled mine but in a weird eerie way. I guessed that was the creature and my suspicions were confirmed as both Nathaniel and Daniel covered their mouths as they probably were afraid of anyone seeing a white mist appear out of their breath. As I had suspected, the creature was now a detectable ghost as the energy from its being zapped must have enabled it to fully integrate into this universe and be detectable like any other ghost. I was distracted from my thoughts as Jack and Maddie stepped up to talk. I silently prayed they wouldn't notice the odd glow outside.

"We do ghost hunting, capture and containment. As you know, Amity Park has had its fair share of ghosts haunting this town." Jack explained. As he was talking there was now a bluish glow outside of the classroom window behind him. The creature that looked like the one that was zapped by the keyboard was now materializing outside at a distance and began to get closer to the class window as if curious and studying us. A few kids gasped as some noticed the strange sight outside but the adults were all seated with their backs to the window so thankfully they didn't notice anything yet. Jack was too into his speech to look up and hopefully he would remain oblivious. Mr. Lancer made a 'Shh' gesture with his finger to his lips as the kids continued to gasp and start to whisper about what they were seeing. Mr. Lancer also was seated with his back facing the outside window.

"No ghost is going to sneak up on Jack Fenton. We have state of the art ghost sensing equipment." Jack explained as Maddie, who had good reason not to notice what was outside as she was busy preparing tech which had non operational weapons per Lancer's request. Fortunately she also did not have any ghost sensing technology with her so that was a blessing. As Jack continued talking I heard an occasional giggle as the creature seemed to hover and move back and forth like a giant fish in an aquarium as it seemed to continue to look in at us. Throughout the entire speech Maddie and Jack were standing at an angle where they did not notice the giant ghost creature spying on them. The kids found it all too amusing as they eventually sat down and then it was my turn to speak. I had to stay focused and try avoiding looking out the window.

"It's an honor to be here today to share with you the challenges that come with the position of being a mayor. As mayor of Amity park I am responsible for overseeing city council meetings and approve legislation as well as making sure the workings of city operations run smoothly like a well oiled machine. Sometimes with such responsibilities the work can become very stressful when let's say there is a power outage or something goes wrong with the city's infrastructure. It may not seem fair but the mayor is also the one who receives the blame when things in the city go wrong." I explained as I spoke from experience. Every ghost attack that wasn't quickly contained, of course I was at the receiving end of the complaints. It isn't easy being a mayor of a ghost infested town!

As I continued my speech I sensed the creature's energy becoming stronger and then it decided to make itself noticed as it slammed hard against the school window. It was inevitable what would happen next with Jack and Maddie being who they are and I stopped talking as Jack was the first to react.

"Get away from here spook!" Jack snarled as he without thinking raised a non working Fenton Bazooka and aimed it at the creature.

"Jack, I'm the only one with armed ghost technology." Maddie reminded him. For once I was relieved she slipped some ghost tech under Mr. Lancer's radar. As she stood up aiming a Fenton Foamer at the creature it continued to smash at the window and a small crack began to appear. The students along with the rest of us all moved away from the window and Mr. Lancer made a quick announcement.

"Everyone, proceed immediately to the cafeteria while the ghost is being dealt with." Lancer announced and he ran faster than everyone else as a crowd made their way out of the classroom and towards the cafeteria. There were some screams but surprisingly there wasn't too much panic. Ghosts were almost a daily common thing at Amity so most students and parents had become used to the presence of them. Daniel and Nathaniel both looked at me with pleading eyes but they knew the drill. Carolyn and I were on duty and they were to lay low during school hours unless the situation became more than she or I could handle. I returned my look of 'No' on my face and their faces became downcast as they followed everyone else to the cafeteria.

"Back off ecto scum!" Maddie hollered as the ghost decided to phase through the classroom window instead of breaking it and was now inside hovering and looking at the two ghost hunters. It seemed to raise an eyebrow as it studied them as they continued to yell and Maddie was charging up her Fenton Foamer. I tried to keep the situation from escalating.

"I don't think it really wants to bother anyone. It just seems to be studying us." I commented cautiously as the creature simply hovered and at times almost seemed to act playful like a curious dolphin. I could tell that Maddie however was aching to fire her foamer and was waiting till the creature was either still or bolting straight towards them. The creature appeared excited as it saw a mirror and I guessed thought it saw its companion. As it bumped the mirror however the creature's human-like face went from an expression of curiosity to that of frustration as it saw its reflection only being mimicked. It hovered away from the mirror and let out a sound that reminded me of a heartbreaking hum of loneliness.

"It sounds sad." Carolyn said. Carolyn was far more empathetic than Jack or Maddie. She didn't blindly view all ghosts or creatures perceived as ghosts as automatically evil. She had the philosophy of believing in trying to make peace first if at all possible before firing ghost guns at a being. Unfortunately, Jack and Maddie did not share in this view.

"The only good ghost is a dead ghost!" Maddie hissed.

"I don't think you can kill a ghost." I said at her comment.

"You can't kill it, but you can capture it and melt its ectoplasm." She spat back as she hit the button on the foamer and the creature spun away as the foam barely missed it.

"Maddie, give it a chance! Maybe it doesn't want to hurt us and is just looking for its mate!" Carolyn protested as Maddie clicked to recharge the foamer. I could tell Carolyn was getting fed up with Maddie's ghost racist attitude.

"Why are you siding with the ghost? Ghosts are all bad and need to be contained!" Maddie argued as she prepared to fire a second shot at the creature. Carolyn was not taking this sitting down.

"How do you know? We don't even really know what ghosts are or if this thing is even a ghost. What if it is an alien with ghost like abilities. Would you choose to shoot at it when it might be trying to make first contact? Would you rather risk an incident that might lead to 'War of the Worlds' instead of trying to communicate with it?"" Carolyn spat angrily. It was especially frustrating to see what was happening. Carolyn like me was a half-ghost and she hated Jack and Maddie's blind hatred of ghosts and unknown entities.

I heard Mr. Lancer's signature sound of footsteps as he ran back toward the classroom as Maddie fired a second shot grazing the creature while also foam knocked over a globe and atlas as the objects crashed to the floor.

"I must insist with this ghost threat that you two try if possible to lure this creature outside to contain it so as to minimize any damage to the school!" Mr. Lancer insisted trying not to sound ungrateful that the Fentons were trying to contain the ghost. I was surprised that Mr. Lancer hadn't hit the alert button to the GIW. I guess after the GIW destroying a brand new PA system, Lancer was reluctant to contact them again and decided to take his chances with the Fentons instead. As Maddie prepared to fire again the creature disappeared and reappeared in front of the school doorway and phased back out into the school grounds.

"Let's go Jack!" Maddie yelled as they followed the creature out the door. I rolled up my eyes and wished I could somehow communicate with this creature. I could sense in particular Daniel who wanted to go and try to lure the creature away from his parents. He also could sense by the behavior or the creature that and it didn't want to cause trouble for anyone. Nathaniel was somewhat empathetic but more cautious as he grew up having to deal with some pretty intense ghosts throughout his early teen experience in the Ghost Zone. Daniel on the other hand wasn't nearly as battle hardened having only had ghost powers for just about a year and a half since his accident that gave him his powers.

"Maddie! Jack! Wait!" Carolyn called out in vain. She then ran in a direction of the nearby ladies room and I suspected she was preparing to transform to try to rescue the creature from the Fenton's assault. I quickly headed up behind them but remained in my human form for the moment so as not to raise suspicion.

As I ran outside behind Jack and Maddie I spotted Carolyn reappear in her ghost form at the far end of the school grounds in front of the creature. As she floated up to it the creature which oddly acted as if it recognized her. It reached up with one of its fins and brushed her face as if showing a gesture of affection. I then saw the Fentons running up towards the creature and Maddie tossed a spare Fenton Bazooka to Jack as the creature turned and spotted them. Then next moment the creature used its other fin to open a green glowing portal which quickly grew in size to about 10 feet in diameter before it pulled Carolyn in with it into the portal and then vanished. My heart sank as I saw my wife, the love of my life vanish with it before my eyes.

"They got away!" Jack spat as they slowed down to a halt and just stood there. I could barely hold it together but couldn't tell anyone why. My beloved had just vanished to God knows where with this creature. I silently prayed I would find her in the Ghost Zone but I couldn't be certain where this creature may have taken her. I had to do something but be discreet. I quickly ran back into the school cafeteria and found Daniel first and told him what happened.

"Daniel, Carolyn was taken by the creature and vanished possibly into the Ghost Zone." I said trying to locate Nathaniel.

"We've got to find her!" Daniel said exasperated as his eyebrows lowered in frustration.

"Dad, where's mom?" Nathaniel said as he came running up behind Daniel.

"The creature teleported her possibly to the Ghost Zone. I'm going to try to find her and get her back." I said trying to keep my composure and my voice down so no one else would hear us.

"We need to find her, let us help!" Nathaniel begged. I put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Alright, listen...I think I know where she is and I will go find her. Stay here and if I need your help to locate her I will contact you. I need to go now and make certain she is alright." I said. They both nodded reluctantly as I quickly ran beyond the edge of the school grounds to a nearby hidden side of a building where I immediately transformed into Plasmius and teleported to the portal at the mansion.

I switched on the portal and began to watch a greenish cloud form that was the ghost dimension. Though the process only took a few minutes it seemed like an eternity as I readied myself and flew through it shooting straight up to hyperspace. When I burst through the rim into hyperspace I hovered still for a few moments trying to sense Carolyn's signature. I felt a tinge of fear as I couldn't yet pick up on her signature. I had to force myself to keep my cool and focus. As I flew along the edge of hyperspace looking into the Ghost Zone below me I saw much more ghost activity this time. There were swarms of green giant wisps of ghosts that flew below quickly with an occasional large creature ghost that floated in a different direction. As I continued flying I began to feel a slight sensation of Carolyn's presence. It was still very distant but it was there. Looking down across the Zone I felt her signature becoming stronger still, but when I what came into view next my heart sank...Walker's prison.

"You two are going to be locked up for a very long time!" I heard a voice that sounded like Walker. He was probably talking to Carolyn and the creature. Her signal was very strong now and I turned intangible and flew back down into the Ghost Zone. As I centered myself between the center of the prison yard I sensed Carolyn's signature near the end of a row of cells. I knew I could only get in to rescue her was if I turned human which would risk me becoming visible, so I knew timing would be critical. As I peeked through the area where her signature was strongest I spotted her and the creature hovering with his body linked in a chain and connected to the chair.

"Half-ghosts are considered contraband in that they are half human Carolyn Plasmius, you have been charged with illegal entry to the Ghost Zone. As for you, whatever you are, you appear to be a newbie here. Newbies are required to register for permission to tour the Ghost Zone. Ignorance of the law is no excuse so my prison is where you newbies end up! Get comfortable you two as you will be looking at hard time!" Walker said as he swung his bat and walked out of the prison cell. The minute he was out and the door was shut I walked to the farthest end of the cell, turned human and phased through. Carolyn turned to me and smiled being careful to stay quiet so as not to let on to any nearby guards of my presence. I quickly turned intangible as I floated up to her.

"This might be a problem." I whispered to her as I studied the restraints. I saw these type of restraints before and realized they were designed for half-ghosts as well as ghosts. Fortunately I kept a skeleton key I made after Daniel had a harrowing escape from Walker's prison. I stole a key and made a duplicate without Walker's knowledge. This key was designed to open the handcuffs and I prayed that it would work again this time around without any hitches. As I began unlocking their restraints Carolyn looked at me with deep concern.

"Even if you unlock the restraints, there's no way that this fish creature will be able to phase through the cell." She stated. I had forgotten that the creature did not have the ability to transform into a regular creature impervious to the walls of Walker's prison. It lacked the same advantage of a halfa. Normal matter can walk through walls in the ghost world just as ghosts can walk through walls in the human world.

"Baby, I need to get you out of here." I defended. I felt for the creature's predicament but I needed to rescue Carolyn right now.

"What would Danny do?" Carolyn reminded me. I knew that Daniel could oftentimes outshine me in coming up with unique brilliant solutions to problems. It must've been his young more unlimited imagination. As I tried to work on a solution I looked at the strange creature. It was unsettling that its human like face resembled me in uncanny way. I had a greater difficulty with empathy due to the way I was raised, but I couldn't help but feel attached to this creature's suffering. It reminded of me of myself in so many ways. It created an almost unfamiliar emotion in me that had reawakened...compassion. I forced myself to return to my analytical thinking.

"Although the creature cannot transform like we can, I wonder if it could hide inside you intangibly? We never lose our ghost halves while we are human yet we can still go through a wall in the Ghost Zone. Maybe if you make the creature intangible and absorb him inside of your body you can smuggle him and phase through the wall." I explained. I knew Carolyn could at will make another object intangible without turning intangible herself. Something that I yet had to learn how to do. Now it was time to put this to the ultimate test.

"I'll try it." Carolyn said as she looked up to the creature. She gently placed her right hand on the creature's face and began to close her eyes. It took deep concentration to do such a precise intangibility move. As she was concentrating the creature leaned into her hand, slowly closed its eyes and let out a soft sound like that of a hump-back whale. Yes, I was jealous of the creature but didn't show it. I could tell by the body language it was hitting on her as I suspected she reminded it of its lost 'love'. I'm guessing she may have resembled the she fish creature as much as he resembled me. I refused to let my emotions get the better of me as I trusted Carolyn who focused her energy and the creature began to fade to invisibility. She then took her other arm slowly placing it behind his back and moved him into her body while she stayed human. It was the strangest thing to witness and I couldn't imagine how it must've felt to Carolyn. I looked outside the barred window and all was clear so I gave the 'OK' symbol with my hand.

"Stay hid inside of me." She whispered as the creature stayed within her as she quickly flew up turning human as did I and then she phased through the prison wall while I followed her. Immediately we all then turned intangible and flew as fast as possible to the outer edges of the Ghost Zone to hyperspace. I couldn't tell if the creature was still inside of Carolyn as being invisible we could only sense each other's location. I moved closed toward Carolyn and was able to feel something that felt like fins next to me as well. Carolyn was holding onto our friend to keep him invisible. As we saw the darker region of hyperspace I heard the creature make another whale-like sound.

"Shh." I whispered to the creature as I could tell it was astonished at what had happened and was excited about being free. I do wish we could've at least spoken its language.

The creature calmed down as we continued upward and then a green glowing cloud appeared. I guessed it may have been a natural opening in the Ghost Zone that forms from time to time and all was well until the cloud shot a couple of green jets of energy out of it. The creature began to act scared possibly thinking the energy bolts were related to the proto portal energy it had witnessed years ago. These strange clouds occur naturally in the Ghost Zone and sometimes discharged. Now was the worst time for that to happen.

"He's fighting me, I can barely hold onto him!" Carolyn complained frantically as we continued up toward hyperspace. It was just less than l00 feet or so it looked ahead of us but it might have been 1000 miles as I felt Carolyn have to slow down and consequently, so did I.

"Maybe if we veer away from where the cloud is sitting and go at an angle up to the edge to hyperspace he might calm down." I suggested. We altered our course slightly to veer away from the energy cloud hoping it would relax him.

"He's still jittery. Maybe if I hum some soft notes that may calm him." Carolyn suggested. She was careful to keep her voice barely audible. I began to hear the creature's breathing become more relaxed making softer tones that sounded almost hypnotic. My concentration was broken as I heard Walker off in the distance. He sounded furious.

"Carolyn Plasmius and fish creature, you can run from Walker, but you can't hide!" He hollered angrily as he quickly began to look around to spot us. Then I noticed him putting on some special goggles. Oh no he didn't. If those goggles did what I suspected they did it would allow him to spot us with ghost signature technology. I desperately hoped they wouldn't work as he turned in our direction but I soon had my answer.

"Freeze punks!" Walker hollered as he began to charge towards us.

"Baby we've got to hurry, Walker has spotted us!" I said desperately as we needed to go faster to make it to hyperspace before Walker and his goons caught up.

"We'll have to teleport!" She shouted. Teleportation in the Ghost Zone was possible but not recommended. We could end up anywhere if we didn't concentrate hard enough. The pulsing energy of the dimension could make one's direction confused unless there was something clear to focus on. It was even going to take more concentration with the creature hiding within Carolyn. The only thing we could focus on was hyperspace itself. I prayed that would be enough. We became tangible and I reached over and grabbed Carolyn's gloved hand.

"Focus on the hyperspace and lets do this!" I yelled back as I held gripped Carolyn's hand tightly and then we shut our eyes as I felt clouds of energy surround me which was normal in teleportation. When the scene changed we were greeted by a dark blue clear sky and the ripples of green waves below us was no doubt the edge of the Ghost Zone. As to where we were in hyperspace my question was soon answered.

"Where'd they go?!" Walker hollered vehemently. I could see the ripples of his image as he looked around frantically but no longer could see us as we safely hid in the edge of hyperspace just beyond view. We made it! Soon I saw the entrance to the mansion portal coming up and breathed a sigh of relief as we finally glided in and back into the mansion at Amity.

"We've got to stop cutting this so close!" Said Carolyn as she released her shield around her body and the fish creature phased out, looking at her making what I guessed were happy sounds almost like that of a dolphin as it proceeded to lick her face. I guess that was its way of saying 'thank you.'

"At least we made it!" I gasped in relief I walked over to the switch and shut down the portal. As I began to unwind my thoughts spanned to what were we going to do to keep our 'guest' hidden. I was mostly concerned about Maddie or Jack finding him.

"Any ideas where we can hide our creature and keep him from wandering off?" I asked Carolyn as the creature began hovering around the mansion looking at objects naturally curious of its surroundings.

"Well, until we can figure out a permanent home maybe I can disguise him to look like your cousin from Cincinnati." She said jokingly. I rolled my eyes at the thought.

"Seriously Carolyn? This would take more than just wardrobe and makeup to do that...it would take a miracle." I replied as the creature looked at me kind of puzzled.

"Well, maybe we could hide him in the lake. He might actually stay there and not drift off." She added.

"That might work. But he would have to learn to stay hid in there." I cautioned. There were other ghosts at Lake Eerie as well. Hopefully he wouldn't be threatened by a pecking order.

"I can send a duplicate of me with him to keep him company so he'll be OK. This is at least until we can find his mate and they can hide in a safe area or lair in the Ghost Zone so Walker can't mess with them." Carolyn explained. That was assuming of course the creature could convince its mate to stop attacking us and make it realize we hadn't shot a death ray at its kind. Just then I heard the mansion door open and Daniel was first to come through the door. His jaw dropped as he saw the creature and it just stared back at him for a moment, then continued looking around at the living room. Nathaniel soon followed with a similar reaction as they both gazed staring blankly at the creature as it continued to hover around the mansion like a fish in a giant fish bowl.

"You've gotta be kidding me! Why is the creature here?" Daniel asked as he studied the it. His expression was downright hilarious with an eyebrow raised and his eyes appeared bigger than normal. Nathaniel wasn't as much expressive but just showed a stunned look of shock with both eyebrows up in a questioning manner.

"Well let me enlighten both of you; our 'guest' fled taking Carolyn to the Ghost Zone and they both landed in Walker's prison. I had to break them out which was no small feat and then we managed to escape back to here." I replied.

"Man, he really looks kind of like you dad." Nathaniel commented as the creature began to float toward Carolyn in a swimming motion and licked her on the face. She made a grossed out expression as I imagine its tongue was slimy.

"I think he likes you Aunt Carolyn." Daniel said with a smirk. The creature then gave a signature expression that was like the flirtatious expressions I used to give to Maddie while I uh...stalked her back in college until I realized Carolyn was the woman of my dreams.

"And he's hitting on mom." Nathaniel added with a note of concern. I guess I had it coming. I was pretty much a flirtatious jerk in this and the former timeline. Now I was getting a taste of my own medicine with Mr. Flipper.

"Better make sure the blinds to the mansion are shut. Wouldn't want anyone being able to see our creature." Carolyn cautioned as she backed up and tried to push the creature away as it kept trying to lick her nose.

"I'll go check the blinds and make sure they're all down, even though I triple checked them this morning." Nathaniel replied as he left and ran around the house to see everything was secure. While he secured everything I kept looking back at the creature. I decided to resign myself to calling the creature 'him' rather than an 'it'. I couldn't help it as he seemed to show a lot of human-like sentience.

"I'm a bit weak, I think I'll need to go into my ghost form." Carolyn said as Nathaniel gave the all clear that the blinds were shut. As she transformed into Carolyn Plasmius the creature became even more interested in her than before. Her eyes were the same color as his and of course she now had fangs like the creature. It made a cooing sound as if he was gesturing his approval of my wife's new look. As the creature drifted toward her again I quickly transformed into Plasmius and floated up next to her to let the creature know she was 'mine'. The creature looked at me but didn't even act threatened. He seemed to have a smile as he made another dolphin like clicking noise and then he appeared to lower his head toward me, I presume letting me know he accepted me as the 'Alpha' male. That was fine with me. She's my wife after all.

"We need to find this creature's mate which is probably our original creature. She probably has only two eyes like him since the top area of his forehead is only that of a marking instead of a third eye." Daniel added.

"I guess our next stop is Lake Eerie. We'll have to be careful as no doubt GIW are all over the place after the latest incident at school. Carolyn, perhaps a better plan would be for you to go intangible teleport him directly to the lake. I don't think the creature will try to form a portal back to the ghost zone any time soon so there should be no problem in that sense. I can follow you and make sure everything is OK traveling invisibly. I could leave my duplicate here at the mansion and.." I spoke and Daniel interrupted.

"We need to come along to and make sure everything is OK." Daniel said in his insistent voice. I knew he as well as my son felt frustrated they didn't get to use their ghost powers during the earlier crisis at school but I needed them to keep focus. They had another job I needed them to do.

"No, you two need to stay here and Daniel, you in particular need to keep Maddie and Jack occupied so they don't decide to go to Lake Eerie and possibly find our guest." I said. I knew Daniel was talented for keeping his folks busy on tasks ghost related as a distraction. I hoped that would be enough as we yet needed to find the other creature.

"Baby, why don't you just stay here. I can just teleport him and we can keep in contact on our wristbands. They're more secure than the cellphones." Carolyn suggested. I thought about it. I just rescued Carolyn from Walker but she seemed pretty sharp with the fact she figured out what needed to be done to save them from becoming permanent residents at the jail. I nodded to Carolyn but also I floated up to the creature and looked at him feeling I was looking at a version of myself through a mirror.

"She's with me." I reminded the creature. He looked at me curiously but I think he knew what I meant. I really hoped we found the creature's mate soon. Carolyn gently turned the creature to face her.

"I'm taking you with me to a big pond where you'll be safe." She said to him as he cocked his head trying to figure out the sounds she was making. Unlike the female he apparently had not learned the human language, or at least not as well as his mate. Carolyn turned back to me and shot me a quick smile.

"I'll be back soon honey. Once we arrive there I'll just leave my duplicate there with him to keep an eye on him." She said as she leaned over and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. She was gone in a puff of smoke, and then a few moments later she was back again...thankfully. As she materialized I noticed her hair looked a bit messy and slimy.

"He likes to groom my hair and got it all spitty." She complained. It was laughable but I hoped that he was just being friendly. I did tell let him know she was mine but of course he probably didn't really understand fully my gestures. As she grabbed a Kleenex and began wiping off her hair I heard the sound of a phone vibrate in the direction of Daniel.

"I thought I turned this thing down. It just keeps going off." Daniel complained as he looked at his phone. He had what looked like numerous alerts and then I notice his eyes widened.

"Vlad, it's the other creature! It's found the keyboard!" Daniel exclaimed as he looked at the ghost unit alert that transmitted the creature's location as a red dot in the visual map of the Ghost Zone that was an app on his phone.

"Well there goes the evening." I replied as I floated over to the study and turned on the portal. Sure I was excited that the other creature had been found, but I was already exhausted from breaking Carolyn out of Walker's prison. I knew I would need everyone's help.

"I'm broadcasting the video on my phone that shows the Ordovician event, hopefully the creature is looking at the keyboard and sees it." Daniel said as he and Nathaniel began to transform. When I saw Nathaniel I noticed he looked at himself in the reflection still having second thoughts about his new look. His hair was even darker now save for a silver middle line and it began to turn up as two points, his face and body were a light greenish glowing blue, his eyes red and he his fangs were now as pronounced just like his old man! He also donned the same outfit as me now. I had a feeling he still might have second thoughts despite seeming to accept his changed look. If only he knew how truly proud I felt of how much more dashing he looked now. I always felt this was a better look for him.

"Dad...I-I still look like you!" Nathaniel said as Daniel looked over to him and his jaw dropped.

"Son you look just like a young version of your father." Carolyn said with a proud smile. I could tell he just wasn't fully accepting of his form yet. It would take more time to get use to it. I tried to explain it again to him.

"Did you really think you would somehow revert back to Daniel's look? You're my son and it's only natural that you would eventually look like me in ghost form." I said rather proudly. Daniel looked up and down at Nathan.

"Actually, I know some girls at school who have a crush on the Vlad look." Daniel said with a smirk. I heard Carolyn make a slight chuckle. Reminding my son of that was brilliant of him. My son like me enjoyed flattery and his eyebrow raised at the thought. He had the expression that said that maybe looking like Vlad Plasmius wasn't such a bad thing after all.

"So I guess this look is truly permanent for me." Nathaniel concluded. I hoped he would eventually just get used to the new look. Either way, my son was now truly a sight to admire and for ghosts, a sight to fear as I was considered the most powerful ghost in the Ghost Zone. I smirked at him as Carolyn offered some extra advice for him.

"Your growing up Nathan. I know it's been mentioned to you before but don't forget to use the special toothpaste and toothbrush we have set aside for you now that you transform with fangs. Need to keep your fangs looking good." Carolyn said. She loved my fangs. To her they were just sexy and a sign of power and prominence. Nathaniel didn't know how blessed he was. I could see we were all getting distracted with Nathaniel's adjustment to his new look and I had to remind everyone our focus mission.

"Everyone, let's worry about looks later. We need to go get our creature." We had to focus on finding the being before it became a worse terror to Amity as well as us. As the portal stabilized and we all joined hands, flew through and then turned invisible. I knew that Walker was looking for me and probably had his goggles on so I experimented with a heated shield around all of us to confuse the technology of his goggles hoping that might work. I would get a break from worrying about that at the moment as there was fortunately no sign of Walker as we flew up to hyperspace. At least not yet.

As we continued in hyperspace I noticed an unusual sight in the distance as what appeared to be a number of Observants floating around the Ghost Zone. Even though we were invisible I knew we were all tired and my experience has been that when dealing with exhaustion, sometimes continuing to remain invisible becomes next to impossible. I whispered to everyone to hide in a nearby floating piece of rock and everyone quickly flew behind it and became visible. I was relieved that we all were able to peek through small random porous holes of the rock which allowed us to spy on them yet remain safely hidden by the boulder's size.

"What are the Observants doing here?" Carolyn whispered. No sooner had she asked the question then we all saw our famous Time Wrangler floating up and suddenly Walker appeared next to him. I saw the Wrangler pulling out a photograph and I refocused my eyes using my ghost powers to see the image. It was my wife in ghost form! I was upset of course but had to stay focus on what was said. We all stayed quiet and listened. The Time Wrangler then motioned at the Observants and they all left to another area of the Ghost Zone beyond our view. I guess what the Wrangler had to say was for Walker's ears only.

"Carolyn Plasmius is wanted for breaking the laws of time. If you see either of them, will you detain them for me?" The Time Wrangler asked.

"Well punk, Ms. Plasmius is a wanted fugitive as she and another creature broke out of my prison. I don't usually hand over my escaped prisoners." Walker said dryly.

"I can make it worth your while. Perhaps there is another fugitive you have wanted badly that I can help capture and bring to you?" The Time Wrangler offered.

"Offering to make a trade huh Wrangler? Well I do have a bigger vendetta against Danny Phantom. If I find Ms. Plasmius, I will trade her." Walker replied while tapping his baton. I saw Daniel rolling up his eyes at the comment. As I looked back I saw the smoky visage of the Time Wrangler become even darker and more menacing as he appeared to consider Walker's offer. It was as if his gaseous appearance was directly affected by his mood.

"It's a deal then. I find Danny Phantom and in turn you trade Ms. Plasmius. Of course, if I capture Ms. Plasmius first and Danny isn't with her, my counter offer will be to leave with you with some coordinates where I have spotted Phantom often in the Ghost Zone so you can scout those areas. Also if I capture Phantom first, I will keep him in a special lair until the woman is located by you. Also, if I capture both of them, how will I be awarded?" The Time Wrangler asked. His eyes glowed a bright golden yellow that looked like pure evil.

"You will be well rewarded with a several month supply of ecto energy." Walker replied looking stoic. Apparently ecto energy was like a super charged nutrient for the ghosts ectoplasm and was a valuable commodity like a super rich food nutrient in the human world.

"Also to let you know, I have some Observants that are scouting the Ghost Zone. Capture is only a matter of time." The Time Wrangler said as Walker pulled out a watch. They then parted ways as each disappeared and I knew there was only one option for us now.

"Even though our trouble makers have left for the moment we should still remain intangible as long as possible once we leave this boulder just to be save. I'll keep the ghost shield around us to help mask our signature from Walker's goggles should he reappear." I advised. Tracking and capturing the creature had just become more complicated.

I'm tying a ribbon to each of us to keep us from getting separated in case one of us accidentally lets go." Carolyn said as I felt her put a special ecto coated ribbon in my hand which I secured to my wrist. It would remain connected to us even while we were intangible. With all the trouble we were having to go to I truly wished I could steal Walker's goggles but that would wait for another time. I was always worried he might reappear.

As we flew past some other floating boulders I heard what appeared to be more of the musical sounds of what might've been the keyboard off in the distance. I focused my attention to the sound I noticed it was becoming louder. We had to be getting closer to the source.

"The sound appears to be coming at a directional angle of 10 o' clock." I whispered. I know the whole family and Daniel were familiar with the aviation clock reference. In a way we were an unusual form of pilot just flying our bodies around in this dimension.

As we came closer our opportunity had finally come. I could barely contain my excitement as I saw a transparent outline of the original fish creature. It was semi visible in the Ghost Zone which was particularly helpful now. I also noticed each time the creature's fin hovered over a note, it was or rather 'she' was soon becoming more visible. The female features of the fish ghost creature were unmistakable. I saw two red eyes like our male creature, with a marking at the top of the forehead. The fin surrounding the head and sides of her resembled the flow of hair. She was like her male companion, an amazing combination of a fish with very human like characteristics. I watched further and saw her fin was no longer passing through the keyboard but was actually touching it as each key pressed down singing its particular letter which simultaneously appeared on the screen. Daniel was looking at her with fascination and also I could tell his eyes were calculating the distance she was from us.

"We need to get to a distance of no greater than 10 feet in order for the thermoses to work. I have to remember as well as everyone else to go tangible or else the thermoses wont work." Daniel whispered.

"Daniel, since Carolyn is in the middle of us and appears closest directly from the creature, let her be the first one to activate a thermos. Carolyn, do you have your thermos ready?" I asked. I sorely needed special goggles for our invisibility but communicating with each other was the best means of seeing each other at the moment.

"My thermos is ready, honey. I suggest when I say 'go' everyone else become tangible and open up their thermoses as well. Between all of us someone's thermos should capture her." Carolyn explained.

I felt confident as we floated carefully and quietly towards the creature. As I felt Carolyn's arm move upward and the sound of the thermos unscrewing I knew it would be moments until she would then turn tangible followed by the rest of us. I then noticed the creature seemed to act spooked suddenly as she stopped playing notes. Technus and Ember were looking at the creature's strange reaction as they were trying to figure out what she was up to. The creature began to sniff and then looked toward Carolyn as if she was actually smelling her, then it dawned on me. This creature was smelling the scent of her mate on Carolyn and began to float over to our direction. As she floated to withing several feet, Carolyn said 'go!' and became tangible holding the thermos in front aimed at the creature and the creature gave a dolphin-like shriek as its form pulled into the canister.

"Got you!" Carolyn hollered. Unfortunately our victory was short lived as I then heard Walker's whistle in the distance. I knew we had been spotted.

"We need to get out of here now!" I hollered at everyone as we flew as fast as possible toward the upward entrance of hyperspace. We didn't dare try to go intangible again as we weren't unsure if in doing so might interfere with the thermos and allow the creature to escape. All we could do was fly fast and hard feeling with what seemed like approaching the speed of sound as we hurled toward hyperspace. I could hear the sirens of Walker and his goons fast approaching.

"We need to slow them down somehow, they're gaining on us!" Nathaniel shouted as I looked behind and saw their increasing speed. I had never seen Walker fly so fast. His anger must have been truly stoked to zoom so recklessly towards us.

"We need to teleport!" Carolyn hollered. I knew that teleportation inside the Zone was risky and we could end up anywhere. We would have to concentrate and focus our ghost cores but I wasn't sure if Daniel was ready for this. Unfortunately, it looked as though we had little choice in the matter.

"I guess we're doing this everyone! Focus all your mind on the mansion portal. On my mark...one...two...three!" I hollered. A large cloud of pink smoke appeared before us and then the smoke cleared and I saw what looked like hyperspace surrounding us with the green ripples of the ghost dimension below us.

"Now where are we?" Daniel asked as he too was frantically looking around.

"I see a guitar, I think we're near Ember's lair. Wait, I think I see our portal!" Nathaniel hollered. The portal was just barely visible through the thick haze of the edge where hyperspace meets the Ghost Zone. As the portal became closer and clearer I noticed an unsettling sight as some of the fish creature was poking out of the thermos Carolyn was carrying.

"She's trying to phase through the thermos!" Daniel said as he looked over at it. I was afraid the creature was phasing from physicality in our universe and might try to escape. She wiggled just like a fish at times to stretch out farther until she was forced to coil back half inside, flinching like a wild giant trout. I prayed the creature wouldn't escape before we entered back through the portal. As Carolyn looked at the thermos she decided to put her free hand over to next the creature's partially showing face. The she creature sniffed Carolyn's hand and immediately calmed down and even began to lick it nervously. My woman was smart to remember the smell of the other creature still on her hands

When we finally shot through the portal the creature broke free of the thermos. In a moment of fast thinking Carolyn turned and threw her arms over the creature and hollered 'Lake Eerie!', disappearing with the creature in a puff of smoke. I knew she had teleported the creature to where her mate was. Carolyn was on top of this and I felt assured she would be careful not to be spotted. Daniel and Nathaniel looked at me with questioning glances.

"I need to go intangible and teleport to Lake Eerie. You two should wait here in case someone calls. " I explained.

"Please Dad, let us come." Nathaniel begged. I saw Daniel's look of pleading as I was preparing to debate the issue.

"You could use the extra help Fruitloop." Daniel chimed in. I was bombarded by their insistent pleas. Saying 'no' was becoming difficult, I had to convince them why they needed to say.

"I know you want to come, but there really isn't a lot more you can do. The creature can't be contained in the Fenton Thermos, so probably other methods to contain her wont work for long either. The best thing you can you two can do right now is cover for us while we're away. Remember that Jack and Maddie are still looking for the creature." I replied and set my eyes on Daniel. I knew Daniel was talented at keeping his folks distracted. He gave me a pouty look as was to be expected. Nathaniel practically duplicated Daniel's expression. I remained silent for the moment as we all looked at each other. Finally Daniel was the first to relent.

"Where do we say you two went if anyone should ask?" Daniel questioned.

"Just say we went for a drive." I replied. I knew I needed to get there in a hurry and one cannot speed on the rough trail inside of the campground leading to Lake Eerie. But I would need the car else if Maddie or Jack stopped by my mansion to see Daniel and saw the car in the garage they would wonder why Carolyn and I 'walked' the 4 mile trek there. So it appears I will have to teleport the entire car along with myself. This was an intense feat I that probably only Carolyn or myself could do.

"Keep your cellphone on in case we have some unexpected problems." Nathaniel added. Of course I always had my cellphone on me but Nathaniel liked to be almost obsessively thorough, much like his mother. Just to be on the safe side I pulled out the phone and looked at the volume control. It was up to near max so I put it back in my pocket and hurried out to the car. I expected after I teleported there I would probably be driving back as Carolyn would be tired after watching the creature. As much as I enjoyed being escorted by my regular driver George, he was watching the castle at Wisconsin and as yet I had to ask him if he could be my chauffeur here in Amity Park. I did have a driver on call when I needed the limousine for my public appearances as Mayor, but other times I preferred driving the Toyota Corolla. I didn't want to look like a rich snob all the time and sometimes I even liked to hot rod but I would never confess that even to Daniel.

I entered the garage and saw Corolla next to the limousine I had for more mundane travels. I opened up the Corolla, pulled out the keys and placed them in the ignition to which I then closed my eyes and held firmly onto the steering wheel with both hands. I focused on the most remote untraveled side of the Lake as I prepared to teleport but I also knew my ghost sense wouldn't allow me to teleport where an object was standing already, but the field would seek the next empty spot. I took a deep breath knowing it might take a bit longer with the extra load to teleport. As I began a deep mental focus I felt a tingly sensation that usually occurs when teleporting but it was more intense with the extra load I was carrying. It felt as if the car lifted a foot off the garage floor during teleportation. It bumped back down and the ground crackled with dirt and dust beneath.

"Vlad?" I heard Carolyn's voice and turned as I opened my eyes. I noticed she had a shiny look about her which was odd. Her hair and outfit also appeared wet. She was remaining in ghost form but sat away from the main road and didn't hover so as to avoid drawing attention to herself. She was also able to subdue her ghostly glow to look more like someone that was dressed for cosplay. I ran staying in human form to be safe. As I came towards her I noticed the shiny look she had was a near transparent ecto algae that she was practically covered in from head to toe.

"What happened to you?" I asked as I jogged up to her.

"Apparently the male creature thought I looked good covered in algae." She replied as she turned intangible allowing the algae and lake water to fall off her as she then materialized now in human form.

"Do you feel comfortable leaving a duplicate of yourself here to keep an eye on them? I had the boys give an alibi that you and I went for a drive should anyone ask." I explained.

"I feel OK with a duplicate to watch them, but we are all going to have to work overtime to keep the Fentons from hunting either creature after this latest disruption." Carolyn replied. It was a full time job for all of us to keep the Fentons busy. The GIW at least took weekends off with half shifts, but managing two over obsessed ghost hunters was another story. As I looked back down at the lake I saw the two giant fish creatures swimming in circles and rubbing each others heads against each other as they swam.

"They look like they really missed each other. That's understandable seeing that they have been separated from each other for over 20 years." I commented as I saw the two creatures now tenderly stroking each other with their fins. These two were beautiful in their natural element. Despite the trouble the one caused, I still could not understand or accept the fact over the hatred that Maddie and Jack had for these two. It just didn't make any sense.

"Well, let's go and I'll leave my duplicate behind to keep our friends happy with company. Hopefully the Fentons wont be up this way anytime soon." She said as I felt some of her energy leave her body and then I saw her ghost form duplicate walk back over to the water. As we headed back to the car I could still smell some scent of algae on her. It didn't stink but was more like someone who had been visiting a sea food restaurant.

As we got in the car and drove off I thought I saw some headlights in the distance. The lights were moving erratically as if the driver was driving too fast for a dirt road. As my eyes focused I saw a shape through the dust, it was the Fenton Speeder!

"Speak of the devil!" I responded as their vehicle was bumping closer to where we were. We needed to distract them from going to the lake. As they spotted us they pulled over and got out of the Speeder and we parked and stepped out keeping as calm and composed as could be expected.

"V-man and Mrs. V-man!" Jack hollered as he walked over towards us.

"Wow, did you two go to a seafood buffet?" Madeline asked. Undoubtedly she got a whiff of Carolyn's smell which for some reason had become more potent.

"That's lake smell. I have been at the lake but no sign of the ghost creature at all. We've been looking for it all day but without any luck." Carolyn cleverly replied. Madeline looked puzzled as she held up one of her ghost detection gadgets.

"We've been detecting increased levels of ecto activity in this area. I'm surprised you didn't see anything. One can't be too safe after that latest ghost attack at the school." Madeline explained to Carolyn as she put her detection unit back on her utility belt.

"Well Carolyn and I have worked up a tremendous appetite. Maybe we should have a bite to eat, my treat. No use trying to catch ghosts on an empty stomach." I said hoping to further discourage them from going toward the lake.

"Jasmine's studying for a final, but maybe Danny and Nathan are available and would like to come as well." Maddie hinted. I needed both Nathan and Danny to stay at the Mansion in case there was unexpected trouble. I had to think fast.

"Well, they're both working on a class project and probably would need to pass on that tonight. But I can always bring some tasty treats to them." I suggested.

"Oh, OK. I am just so thankful that Danny is now an honor's student right up there with Jazz." Maddie said proudly.

"The Pancake House sounds kind of yummy right now. I've been working up quite an appetite myself chasing ghosts!" Jack added. Madeline rolled her eyes. We all knew Jack always had an appetite whether he was chasing ghosts or just relaxing at the lab. There was a reason Jack was so huge.

"Honey, maybe I should stop by the mansion and get changed. I feel a bit musty. Also, maybe after the restaurant Danny can leave early and stay home with his folks for the weekend?" Carolyn suggested. Carolyn knew Daniel was able to distract his folks better when he was staying with them. I got the hint Carolyn was making so I quickly agreed to it.

"Of course he can, he's been top of his class." I replied. I knew Daniel would be thrilled with this though I suspected Nathan might be somewhat disappointed. He enjoyed hanging out with Daniel. Although Nathaniel had other friends, he was always under stress to keep his powers a secret. With Daniel, he didn't have to worry about it.

"That's wonderful! I want to thank you so much Vlad for you and Carolyn helping to bring up his grades. I can't imagine what was so distracting when he used to come home from school looking exhausted." Madeline commented. I knew. He was chasing ghosts practically non stop and without help while trying to hide his identity. If he hadn't come to stay with us during the week he might've flunked Sophomore year at Casper.

"I always knew Daniel had a lot of potential. Nathaniel is especially gifted as a tutor and being close to Daniel's age helps." I proudly added.

Well anyway let's go to the mansion and then we'll head to the restaurant" Carolyn suggested.

As we both hopped back into the Corolla I noticed Jack hurriedly getting into the Speeder. I insisted on being ahead of Jack since he was a terrible driver and if food was involved his driving became even worse. I text the boys back home to see if they wanted anything. I was tired in my body but was determined to dine out with the Fentons if it kept our creatures safe for a bit longer.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 Creature Comforts

**Klaatu: Thank you so much again for all the awesome reviews! This last chapter was longer but it had a lot of interaction with locating and getting the creatures together. The male fish creature begins to develop attachment issues with Carolyn complicating things further, however it will also begin to talk and make human like sounds as it attempts to communicate. One interesting note, although the creature is referred to as fish-like I try to make it have more dolphin-like characteristics in both looks and personality.**

**As to whether or not the original creature is convinced that the proto portal did not cause the accident, I am leaving that up in the air. Just because the she creature has found her mate and is elated for the moment doesn't mean she's changed her mind about the portal, but it doesn't mean she hasn't either. This will be a wait an see moment. A lot more unexpected turns will be in this chapter but I wont give away too much.**

**As always, I hope you enjoy the little twists and turns this story is taking and please review.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Checkmate or Endgame.

Danny's POV

While we were playing a game of Doomed, I shared an idea with Nathan about ways to track and monitor the fish creatures. Ordinary tech wouldn't work as we learned that ecto energy can interfere with most normal equipment. Only certain spectral frequencies continued to function and transmit without the ecto interference such as our wristbands when we entered the Ghost Zone. I brought up an idea modifying the Specter Deflector belts so they could be worn by the creatures and act as a tracking device. Then Nathan came up with the idea of modifying the defector belts to emit a frequency that somehow interacted with the creature's fields and would cause them to turn intangible. He had a theory that just as a specific frequency can be emitted to act as a ghost shield, there might be a frequency that can cause ghosts to become invisible. He suspected this onetime when we were fighting Technus. Just as Technus disappeared Nathan claims he detected a high pitched sound for just a moment.

"I'm telling you Badger, this could work." Nathan insisted as he paused the game and sketched a brief drawing on a nearby notebook. He began scribbling some equations on it when I got the text from Vlad that my folks were coming over. They asked if either of us wanted to go to the Amity Pancake House but we were already involved brainstorming at the moment and didn't feel like talking about boring grownup stuff. I knew from the text the restaurant was a distraction to keep my folks from going to the lake and possibly discover the creature or creatures hiding there. I knew food was a major temptation for my dad. Hopefully this would buy us extra time we would need to have the deflector belts modified to actually work on the fish creatures to keep them invisible so as not to be hunted. I heard a knock on the door and saw the silhouette of the Fenton Speeder outside the front window as I ran and opened the door, giving my mom and dad a big huge hug.

"Hey sweetums, would you like to come home early this weekend?" My mom asked. I was thrilled to go home to see my family. I also knew I would have my hands full keeping them away from the lake but I had a plan in my head.

"Awesome!" I replied.

"Also, are you sure you wouldn't like to come to the Amity Pancake House with us?" Mom asked almost hoping I would come. But I knew the drill. Both Nathan and I needed the break from everyone so we could get the belts ready. I also needed to brainstorm strategies I would need to use to keep my folks from finding the creatures. This was going to be a challenge.

"I'm OK, if you want you can bring us a burger and fries." I added. I was really hoping she would be convinced I didn't really want to go to the restaurant tonight. I also needed to stay thin as I knew I still had a risk of inheriting some of my dad's fat building tendencies. Then my dad walked up to me with a grin.

"Hey sport, would you like to try doin' some fishing at Lake Eerie this weekend?" He asked. I froze and tried to remain calm despite the lump in my throat.

"Actually I was hoping to study how you put together some of your ghost equipment." I asked. I knew that dad couldn't resist showing off his inventions.

"Well certainly son. I always knew this day would come, but are you sure you don't want to do some fishing with your old man?" My dad replied bursting with pride.

"That's OK, I can go fishing anytime but I need to learn more about your ghost fighting equipment. I silently breathed a sigh of relief as Carolyn then came in changed in one of her sports suit outfits. She enjoyed the semi dressy outfits after enduring hours in her cape outfit as Carolyn Plasmius I guessed.

"My goodness, you look just like my Maddie!" Dad said and I felt a bit awkward as I saw Carolyn blush. She really looked too much like my mom. If there was one thing equally bad of Vlad chasing my mom in the other timeline, it would be my dad chasing Carolyn in this one. But my dad was quite the gentlemen and even Vlad showed no sign of jealousy or at least as far as I could tell.

"Why thanks Jack." Carolyn answered with a small grin. It was probably amusing as it was awkward that she was a double to my mom in every way.

"You two hold down the fort till we return." Vlad said as the adults walked out the door. As they left I returned to what I thought would be an uninterrupted game of Doom. But not a few minutes later I saw Carolyn in her ghost form appear a ways from us. Nathan jumped as he wasn't expecting her to be back so soon.

"Mom, what are you doing back?" Nathan asked as he quickly paused the game.

"Well, it's not really me entirely but a version of me. I need you or Danny to gather some ecto herbs from the Wisconsin Castle for our creatures back at the lake. Just shortcut through the portal. Oh, and just to keep you updated, the male fish creature is growing especially restless. He still keeps trying to hit on me even though he is with his mate!" Carolyn complained. Yep, that fish was definitely a fish version of Vlad. Although it had found its mate, it probably was still a bit confused or maybe it just was attracted to Carolyn as she had helped him through so much, as weird as that sounded. As I looked at her she jumped suddenly.

"What's the matter?" I asked as Nathan looked puzzled at her behavior.

"The fish creature just licked my duplicates' face which I felt as well!" Carolyn complained as she rubbed her right cheek.

"Mom's got a fish crushing on her." Nathan laughed as he thought the entire thing was downright funny. I could tell that Carolyn however was anything but amused.

"Well, I'll get the herbs together so we can make some calming tea for the creatures. " I said and Carolyn nodded gratefully as she then vanished in a puff of pink smoke. I was surprised that the she creature wasn't getting more jealous of the male creatures' attentions on Carolyn but apparently these fish weren't very possessive or if they were like dolphins, I was aware that dolphins often have more than one mate. Now she not only had to keep the two calm, but keep the male from getting too interested in her.

"I'll do some studying till you return Badger. Tell the gang I said 'hi'." I could tell Nathan wanted to visit the ghost crew back at his Wisconsin home but hopefully some of them could come and stay here. For the moment I had more pressing matters as I received the text for the list of herbs needed and prepared to go to the portal in the study. I flew toward the kitchen to grab a small cloth bag to hold the herbs I would collect and then I went ghost as I flew and phased through the door of the study and then turned on the portal. I reviewed the list of ingredients that were needed as the portal began to charge up and become active.

_Ecto versions of_

_Chamomile_

_Kelp_

_Soak for 15 minutes in chunky clam sauce. Be sure to get some clam sauce from the kitchen while in Wisconsin._

_Thanks, Aunt Carolyn_

It made sense to soak the herbs in clam sauce as most likely the creatures probably preferred a diet like dolphins which ate mostly smaller sea creatures such as clams as well as other sea life. I held the list tightly along with the small pouch as I saw the green swirling mist form at the portal, however before I could even go ghost the portal suddenly shut down. I ran to the switch, shut it off and waited for about 10 seconds before turning it on but nothing happened. This is what I feared, the constant switching of the portal on and off had worn it down to where it didn't function like it should and would eventually fail. I didn't have time to figure out repairs, I needed to get to the castle in Wisconsin. I thought through my options. I couldn't use dad's portal as there would be two many questions asked among numerous other reasons. My only solution was teleportation. I pulled out my phone and dialed the Wisconsin castle.

"Hello Daniel, how have you been?" George answered on the other end of phone. I could tell he was happy to hear from me.

"George, I wish I had time for a social visit but I need to make an urgent teleportation to the castle to gather some ecto herbs. I'm not that good at teleportation so I may be very exhausted when I arrive." I said. I hated admitting that I wasn't as good as Vlad, Carolyn or Nathan in this area but I knew they all had a lot longer to develop their abilities and Nathan was born with his ghost powers.

"I will prepare for you an energizing tea blend Master...I mean Daniel sir." George replied. I could tell he still liked to call me Master Daniel. Old habits die hard.

"I may have to make two jumps because of the distance. I'm not sure where my first jump should be. Any ideas?" I asked. I knew George had a wealth of knowledge of places where Vlad had hideouts between Wisconsin and Amity Park.

"I recommend a hideout at Lake Winnebago near the Wisconsin border. Master Plasmius purchased a tract of land that has an underground cavern." George revealed. It was perfect being underground. No one would see me even appear above ground so it would be perfect.

"OK then, I'll see you soon." I replied confidently.

"Best of luck to you sir." George replied and I thanked him for his help. This was going to be a tough trip for me as I had to hold my breath during teleportation. In ghost form I didn't need to breath as much but the extra effort of teleporting would wear on me. I focused my energy, held my breath, closed my eyes and focused on the lower cavern at Lake Winnebago. I felt myself go tingly and the next moment, I felt the smooth floor become replaced with a sandy surface and everything was dark. I gasped momentarily feeling chills and stomach cramps. The teleportation was rougher on me than I anticipated. I gathered my breath, opening my eyes adjusting to ghostly night vision as it was dark and blurry. It looked like a cavern and I heard the sounds of a lake not far from where I was. I took another deep breath, closed my eyes and then focused on the castle. The tingly sensation became intense again and then I felt the sandy ground become a hard tile floor again only now my body was incredibly weak and I felt myself falling to the floor. I landed on my shoulder which shot with pain. It felt like a sprain but I knew it would heal quickly.

"Sir, are you alright?" Asked Niane who was looking at me as I focused on where I was. I was in the kitchen of the Wisconsin castle. I got up shakily and rubbed my shoulder.

"I'm OK. I'm not used to long distance teleportation." I replied. I immediately saw George run up to me from around the corner.

"So good to see you again sir. You look a bit hurt, are you alright?" He said as he picked up a tray with a tea kettle and a cup already steaming next to it.

"I'm OK. I just need to get some herbs at the atrium and then travel back. I wish the portal was working back at Amity but it's on the fritz." I explained as I walked over a took a sip of a combination of Earl Grey Tea with an ecto blend of super herbs. I could tell it was soothing and already I felt much better after several sips. I walked over toward the atrium and gathered the ingredients carefully placing sprigs of equal amounts in the pouch. I then went back to a kitchen cupboard where I recall Vlad kept lots of canned seafood snacks and juices and found a bottle of chunky clam juice.

"Hello sir, glad to see you. We got you an extra bag if you need one." Patty said as I saw her with the other maids fast approaching to greet me. I had no idea I was so badly missed.

"He doesn't need such a big bag, just this smaller one will do." Michelle added. Patty and Michelle in particular loved to argue. It was comical to watch them and it brought back a lot of memories. I wish I could've just sat down and visited with them but I had to keep on focus. Carolyn was counting on me.

"I'm glad to see everyone. I really feel bad I can't stay but maybe if you ask Vlad, some of you can take turns staying at the mayoral mansion in Amity Park." I confessed. I really wanted to visit with them as I missed them all very much. I hoped it worked out that some of the staff could come to Amity to work for a time. It wasn't as big as the castle but it still was a mansion.

"I know you are in a hurry but might I ask what all the herbs are for?" George inquired.

"We have a couple of ghost fish creatures in Lake Eerie that need to stay calm so they will stay out of sight." I replied. I notice Michelle's face light up when I mentioned Lake Eerie.

"Why not use the natural portal that occurs over the Lake?" Michelle asked me. I look puzzled.

"What natural portal?" I asked dumbfounded.

"There has been a portal recently appearing over Lake Eerie according to rumor, however it may not be the best solution as the portal is at times unstable and reappears in areas of the Ghost Zone. If you feel the risk is acceptable you might prefer arriving there to save you some time sir." George explained.

"And you should mix up the ingredients here so they'll be ready as soon as you arrive back at the Lake." Michelle suggested.

"Thanks but I need to keep the herbs fresh till I grind them and soak them in the clam juice. The shortcut sounds good but I think it's safer to directly teleport if the portal has a risk of being unstable. I guess I'll just focus teleporting back to the mayoral mansion." I replied. I knew I could've mixed the ingredients there and maybe the few minutes wouldn't have made as much difference, but I knew the teleport wore on me and I couldn't risk being clumsy.

"Well sir, it is good about the portal should you need to use it in a future emergency." George added. It did sound tempting as I thought how easy it would be to use that natural portal which I could then use to do a short teleport to the mansion, but I also knew how unpredictable natural portals could be and was aware this portal might be too unstable to risk it.

"Thanks, I'll keep it in mind just in case. Anyway, I better get this to Aunt Carolyn as she's watching the creatures till I can return to the Lake." I said. I felt horrible that I had to leave in such a hurry but there was too much at stake and I needed to head back.

"I understand Daniel. Hopefully you might be seeing some of us at the mansion if I can convince Master Plasmius." George said in a comforting tone.

"Amity Park sounds like a wonderful place." Patty said looking off in the distance.

"Yeah, except be careful as my folks hunt ghosts not to mention the GIW." I reminded them.

"Oh we are most aware of it sir. I read about Amity Park's famous ghost hunts often as Master Plasmius sends me a copy of the paper." George replied.

I barely finished my tea and gave a hug to everyone. It was strange that it was just a half hour ago I was in Amity Park and now here. Even with ghost powers some things I never got used to. I closed my eyes and felt a tingly sensation and again felt sandy ground beneath me. I focused on the mansion and then I felt myself starting to hover and felt strange. I opened my eyes and was shocked. I was in the Ghost Zone! I should've rested more before trying to teleport back but I was in too much of a hurry. I looked around and realized I was near Technus' lair. I wasted no time as I immediately shot upward toward hyperspace but then I saw an image off to the left of me of Skulker. Now wasn't the time to have to deal with this!

"What's the matter whelp, lost?" Skulker said as he was fast approaching me. I kept looking at him as I shot with all my strength to make it to hyperspace. I was too exhausted from teleportation to go intangible. My only other option was to flee but I was upset with Skulker and had to resist to urge to fight him as I fled. I ultimately exchanged some angry words at him as I attempted to flee.

"Aren't you on Vlad's payroll?" I asked. I knew that technically it would be unwise of him to hunt me as he knew I was currently staying with Vlad and he relied on Vlad for employment from time to time. But then sometimes old habits still die hard.

"Plasmius doesn't pay me enough. I think I'll capture you and put you in one of the special zoos of the Ghost Zone." Skulker threatened. So now the Ghost Zone had zoos. Well I wasn't sticking around long enough to get put into one. I didn't feel I was up to going intangible for an extended length of time so decided I would need to do some misdirection. I briefly went intangible while creating a visible duplicate of myself at the same time. I send the duplicate off in another direction and watched Skulker get ready with his net while I began to see the edge of hyperspace brimming before me. As I was nearing the entrance I saw Skulker toss his net capturing my duplicate and also looking a bit puzzled as my duplicate wasn't struggling that much. I felt myself weaken and had to allow the duplicate to vanish and merge with me.

"You whelp! You shouldn't even be able to escape that net!" Skulker yelled as I saw hyperspace just within 30 feet. I looked back one last time as I saw his image begin to ripple letting me know I had left the Ghost Zone and just entered hyperspace. At this point I reluctantly decided to risk using the Lake Eerie portal. I had no idea where it might be then I had an idea. I knew the regular cell phone service didn't work well in the Ghost Zone, but the apps still worked. I gambled that I might be able to pick up the ghost signature of the creature since my phone was programmed to detect the creature. Since they both were at Lake Eerie, their signatures might be picked up by the natural portal. So if I detected their signatures, the portal would have to be close by.

I nervously held out my phone placing my finger on the app and then looked on a grid. An intermittent red dot blinked to the left and then began to draw closer to the center of the screen. The dot was a faint signal of the fish creature. Which one I didn't know nor care. They were both at Lake Eerie. I looked down and appearing in view I saw the faint outline of a green portal floating below me which looked about the size of a small puddle. I crossed my fingers as I shot down and flew into it and then out to see what looked like a white fog. The fog as it turned out was just my eyes adjusting to the jump as I heard the sound of water splashing. As I began to rub my eyes and focus I finally saw what looked like the Lake and Carolyn's duplicate in ghost form sitting at the shore.

"Cut it out!" She giggled as she pulled back from the lake edge a bit while the male fish creature kept jumping up trying to lick her face.

"Aunt Carolyn, I have the herbs. I'm heading back to the mansion to grind them up." I floated toward her and landed.

"Why did you come here first?" She asked.

"The portal at the mansion is on the blink so I had to teleport to the castle, and then I accidentally beamed into the Ghost Zone on the way back and had to jump through a natural portal that is here at Lake Eerie." I managed to spurt out in one breath. I left out the details of Skulker chasing me. It was old news anyway. He always had an excuse to chase me with just rare exceptions.

"Wow, sounds like you have had some travels!" Carolyn said with her eyebrows raised.

"You have NO idea." I sighed as I prepared to teleport back to the mansion.

"Well, the creatures are not too hyper except for the male creature keeps flirting with me. Please hurry sweetie!" Carolyn said as she barely dodged the fish creature's jump and trying to lick her on the face again.

I closed my eyes and focused on the mansion. I exhaled and again I felt hard tile beneath me. This time I wasn't as exhausted as the ecto tea blend gave me extra strength. I saw Nathan already with an herb grinder and I flew over and laid the ingredients down. Quickly I began to grind and blend them as Nathan opened up the jar of chunky clam juice and poured it into a glass bowl. After I poured and mixed all of the ingredients he set the concoction into the fridge and set the timer for 15 minutes.

"So how is my mom doing?" Nathan asked as I sat down for a few minutes to catch my breath.

"The Vlad fish is hitting on her as usual but other than that she is managing alright." I chuckled. It was probably funny to everyone but Carolyn. It was bad enough the fish looked like Vlad's facial features.

"I worry about that. The creature seems to like my mom too much. I wonder if he will want to stay where he can be around my mom." Nathan said with inflection of concern.

"Hopefully he will return to be with his own mate. In the meantime if he is invisible it shouldn't matter, but if his signature shows up I'll have to modify my folks equipment so he wont be detected." I added. I was definitely concerned. I was thinking through various scenarios when the timer rang and I flew back to the kitchen and opened the fridge. I placed it in a pot and brought it to a simmer. After a couple of minutes I removed the concoction pouring it into a heat resistant jar and screwed the lid on tight.

I hope your right. Be careful Badger." Nathan said as he sat back down scribbling down calculations for the deflector belts. I teleported and arrived back at the Lake right where I saw the male creature swimming with the female. Maybe he was finally getting over Carolyn until I then saw the creature head back toward Carolyn flying back up out of the water and hovered over her making clicking sounds at her.

"I hope you have the concoction." Carolyn said sounding rather exhausted as I carefully opened up the jar.

"I hate to do this but I know he'll smell it and I know he likes to lick my face...ugh. Well here goes nothing." She lamented as she took the now thickened stew of ingredients and began to smear it on her face and then leaned over the edge of the water. The creature flew over to her and began to sniff and his tongue made little licks across her cheeks. His fins reached up and rested on her shoulders as he began to enjoy the tasty treat. His licks became slower as I could tell the ingredients were almost as powerful as a tranquilizer. Soon he became sleepy but rather than float back into the water he floating on her lap and leaned his head against hers. She tried to ease up away from him but then he woke up and began licking her face again, laying a fin over her shoulder.

"Now what am I suppose to do?" Carolyn asked as the creature clung to her. His tail curling up from time to time happily.

"I guess I could get some sheets that have your smell on them and wrap them up and lay the creature on them." I suggested. This was seriously one crazed up fruit-loop fish creature!

I teleported to the mansion bedroom and pulled the top sheet off the master bedroom and teleported back to the Lake. I floated over and gave the sheet to Carolyn who then laid down on the sheet with the creature still holding her. She carefully slid the creature off of her wrapping him in the sheet and then looked at me.

"I'm going to leave, can you stay and make sure the creature doesn't get restless and start looking for me. If he does, just text me. I hope this will work." She said as she poured the remaining ingredients in the jar onto a nearby leaf and laid it carefully on the sheet. She looked around making sure no one was looking when she then teleported in a puff of smoke. I watched and the creature look around and then begin licking the sheet and wrapping it around him.

The creature made a cooing sound and was calm, unfortunately he was also out of the water and very visible. I watched him for a while. He didn't appear awake enough to be looking for Carolyn at the moment but that could change. He was steadily becoming more relaxed and it appeared the calming effects of the tea were kicking in as he began to lay quietly on the sheet nuzzling his head next to where Carolyn had sat. I decided it was safe for the moment to head back. I had to get back and figure out our next strategy to hide these creatures.

I teleported back to the mansion and soon I heard a car pull up in the driveway. My folks along with Vlad and Carolyn had just returned from the restaurant. As they came in Carolyn looked at Vlad and then at me. She had a smirk on her face and I found out why. I saw my dad come in next.

"I can't believe they don't serve more seafood choices at the restaurant. It smelled like I was surrounded by fish!" My dad exclaimed.

"It's funny but I smelled a lot of fish too, especially a short while ago." My mom added. That was probably the time that Carolyn left her duplicate at the lake. Nathan came out and decided to show off some card tricks to my folks. He could do mini teleporting with his ghost powers but they wouldn't be the wiser. I saw Carolyn washing her face as I guessed even though she was clean she probably still had the feeling of the creature licking her face. I walked over to her.

"I think he likes you." I commented with a grin.

"You think?" Carolyn smiled sarcastically. I felt a question burning inside me as we talked. It was actually more related to Vlad than anything else and it had been something that I had been pondering one for a long time.

"Can I ask you something Aunt Carolyn?" I asked as I mustered up the courage to ask what had been on my mind. I hoped she wouldn't take it the wrong way.

"That's one question, now go ahead and ask me another." Carolyn replied with a smirk.

"What is it you see in Vlad?" I asked hoping she wouldn't be offended by my inquiry. I knew Vlad was handsome and quite the charmer but he also had his fruit-loop side and I often would see them fight at times. It was serious enough at times where Carolyn was forced to having to go behind Vlad's back to stop him from doing something when it was wrong on the moral compass.

"Well, Vlad may have his faults but he doesn't try to just do evil things. It's just sometimes his judgment is marred by his father's conditioning. I accept I too have faults at times and he needs to adjust my moral compass. But despite it all we really do love each other and we don't give up on each other." Carolyn answered bravely. It must've been difficult for her to admit the faults of her husband, but listening to her explain why she married Vlad made a lot more sense. Still I feel I needed to press the matter further.

"Doesn't it become frustrating to have to work behind his back to stop him at times when he refuses to listen?" I asked. I felt I was stepping on a shaky limb but so far she hadn't taken any noticeable offense to my questioning.

"It is very frustrating at times, but Vlad has an affliction as do I. In some ways our afflictions are similar and we try to help each other overcome them. Vlad struggles with narcissistic personality but his empathy still manages to come out. It has simply been buried deep by how he was raised as a child and then the impact of the traumatic loss of part of his family. I have a more obsessive-compulsive bipolar nature that can border on narcissism but I am keeping it in check as he helps me to as well. Simply put, at times we are two halves of a whole crazed up fruit-loop but therapy has helped us gradually in overcoming our afflictions." Carolyn replied. I knew Carolyn could be a bit moody with Vlad but I had no idea the demons she has had to face herself. The fact she is able to acknowledge hers and Vlad's own weaknesses and talk about this with me helped me to see her as a truly amazing person. Vlad is very blessed to have her.

"I notice you like to take a lot of relaxation therapy classes. I'm guessing that's to relieve the stress with managing Vlad's moments as well." I added. I had to manage with Vlad in the past sometimes. We've had our occasional ghost zaps to each other but I refused to take the self-righteous attitude of black and white hero versus villain like I had in the other timeline. I had taken some classes of my own in conflict management and interpersonal communication that helped a lot. It actually helped in getting Vlad to sit down and talk with me from time to time instead of just spiraling into full out battles.

"I need these classes as there are times that Vlad still tries to be sneaky and do his own thing, like when he kidnapped Vortex to end the drought in Amity. Vlad felt he was justified and that I simply didn't understand his vision of the 'greater good' at the time. Eventually he relented however and realized the error of his ways. But then how many times do we find ourselves making those same mistakes ?" Carolyn added. Her words hit too close to home. I too had made some bad mistakes when I stole the Fright King's sword just to get my haunted house to pass. Sometimes I hated to admit it, but Vlad and I were more alike at times than I cared to admit. I just drew my limits sooner whereas Vlad took much longer to realize when he overstepped his bounds.

"It still must be really hard at times." I commented. I saw an internal struggle with Carolyn to keep her composure. She and Vlad really got into some fights but she said that actually a good fight now and then is healthy for a marriage.

"Danny, our problems can overshadow each other but our love is stronger than our differences. There were times I did some pretty crazed up things in my day." She explained. No, not Carolyn even with her faults.

"Like what?" I asked with a cross between mild curiosity and outright disbelief.

"I played with a device on my world that was believed to amplify human thought. I think it also may have collected ecto energy from everywhere. Anyway, one day I was angry at a court ruling for a relative, so angry without thinking I cursed a mountain range in a fit of rage forgetting the machine was on. I didn't really want to hurt anyone. All that negative energy still had built up. A week later a terrible earthquake happened. It may have been just coincidence but I had seen this machine do some crazy stuff. I destroyed the machine but the guilt that I may have been responsible for the quake continues to haunt me to this day. Humans were never meant to have such powers." Carolyn confessed. Now I understood why Carolyn was so hard on herself at times. I couldn't imagine having to live with such guilt that she felt. I had to say something.

"You at least felt guilty about it. The fact you felt remorse must count for something." I defended.

"When you have had to live with what I have faced, the concept of a crazed up husband stealing a weather being to try to manipulate the forecast doesn't seem so hard to accept." Carolyn said with a sad smile. Now I could see way she didn't get as angry at Vlad when he did what he did...she had been there herself. I was distracted as I suddenly felt a cool mist leave my mouth. I looked around and unfortunately the male fish creature had returned.

"I thought he was out cold!" I exclaimed trying to keep my voice down.

"We'll have to wing this and hope your folks don't come to the main living room till we can hide our 'guest'." Carolyn said nervously.

Once again another cool mist left my mouth. I looked around only to see the Time Wrangler! This so couldn't happen at a worse time! Apparently he had somehow followed me from the Ghost Zone to Amity Park.

"Well now, looks like I finally found Carolyn Plasmius hiding in human form." The Time Wrangler said with an evil smile outlined in his smoky visage.

"Back off creep!" Carolyn snarled quietly but didn't dare transform with my folks in the next room. She shot a pink ray at the Wrangler with her hand aimed behind her back to keep it hidden. It was a direct hit as the ray knocked the Wrangler away a few feet. His cloudy form became obscure and blurry for a moment before he regained his form. His eyes grew a bright yellow and his smoke became an angry smoldering blackish swirls of cloud. The Time Wrangler angrily shot a yellow ray back at her while I also shot a green ray at him. My ray also hit him and his form blurred for a moment as he appeared to weaken.

"You think it's hard fighting us now, wait till I bring Vlad Plasmius to join the fight against you." I threatened. Vlad had built a much bigger badder reputation for himself and was the most feared in the Zone. I had hoped to intimidate the Time Wrangler. He was getting on my last nerve. I noticed Carolyn created a human duplicate of herself as she let her original self go invisible. I could hear Nathan still had my folks transfixed on card tricks so I wasn't worried of them coming in here at least for the moment.

"The Time Wrangler hopes you do." He then materialized a huge cloth bag and threw it over Carolyn's duplicate. I tried to act like I was shooting to try to stop him at this point but what I really was trying to do was trick him into leaving with Carolyn's duplicate. Because it was her duplicate, it would simply vanish over time and the Time Wrangler would be without his prize. I did ghost zaps that grazed him as he flew up and then vanished with the bag. Just as that happened the fish creature shot out of the water and began to make shrieks and was acting frantic.

"It's OK guy, she's safe." I calmly said to the fish as I pulled out my phone and played a video clip of Carolyn. The male fish sniffed my phone and began to lick it trying to pick up Carolyn's scent. It then rubbed his face hard against the phone. This 'Vlad' fish had it really bad for Carolyn. He calmed down as she reappeared.

"Hey little friend, I'm right here." Carolyn said. The fish creature cooed upon seeing her and clicked some sounds out her. He could obviously sense she was upset.

"I think the Time Wrangler has been duped for the moment but it wont be long before he's back." Carolyn cautioned.

"Yeah, and in the meantime I need to keep the fish creature hidden in the mansion away from my folks." I said worried they might come in at any moment.

"I'll make him sorry he messed with me. Anyway take the fish creature to the rec room and give it any spare concoction that you have. I'll try to keep your mom and dad distracted." I could tell she was upset but couldn't say anything in present company. Hopefully we could keep outsmarting the Time Wrangler until we could find a way to capture and defeat him. I duplicated myself and had some concoction from the jar I carried to the lake. My duplicate grabbed it off the table and opened the lid as the creature squealed with joy and followed my duplicate to the rec room. I then walked over to Nathan my dad was begging to show him how he did his latest card trick.

"Sorry Mr. Fenton. It's a magician's code not to reveal a magic trick." Nathan said casually as he saw me. I sat down on a nearby chair and just sunk in to relax after all the crazy happenings of the day. Nathan continued doing card tricks apparently not showing any visible concern about our fish guest. He could have nerves of steel at times.

"Hey Nathan, could I have a moment of your time?" I asked as I pulled Nathan discreetly over away from my mom and dad's hearing. I leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"The male fish creature is back but I have him safe in the rec room with my duplicate. Of greater concern, guess who came trying to kidnap your mom? The Time Wrangler! Fortunately we tricked him as it was a duplicate of her he kidnapped. Still that stupid ghost is out there and knows Carolyn lives here." I warned Nathan. Nathan gave me a serious look and shook his head.

"The Time Wrangler is in for a world of hurt. Nobody messes with my mom and gets away with it. She and my dad are a force to be reckoned with and with me makes three times the hurt." Nathan growled. I had never seen such a temper in Nathan before. When I listened to him he now sounded a lot more like his father. The apple truly doesn't fall far from the tree. I changed the subject some to ease tensions.

"We'll figure it out like always. Meantime I need to get my mom and dad to take me home before the fish creature decides to wander throughout the mansion." I cautioned Nathan.

"Hey baby, ready to come home?" My mom asked as she walked up to us.

"Sure." I said. It would be nice to be home again and even earlier than usual this week. I also could work on a second unit partially at dad's place and then bring the unit over to Vlad's for further testing to prepare for catching the other fish creature. As I got up from the chair the empty pouch of tea herb fell to the ground. My mom noticed it and looked puzzled.

"Isn't that one of those special organic pouches Vlad uses to make his homemade teas with?" Mom asked. Mom was a stickler for detail and I hadn't even thought about something as basic as the tea pouches but she noticed it.

"Oh, I thought I might try a hand at making some homemade tea myself." I replied. I felt nervous that I had that pouch as it was a special design that Vlad only had in the Wisconsin castle. Hopefully she wouldn't know he didn't normally have any here. Then Carolyn came to the rescue.

"I had some tea pouches from our Wisconsin home and brought them here as I like Vlad's teas from time to time." Carolyn added. She was quick for thinking of quick answers to stickier questions. Even though the tea pouches probably weren't that big a deal, but I was still wound up from all the teleportation and needed to calm down. Just then I heard a loud thud on the door. Vlad walked out to the door and opened it to remove a poster that had been stuck on it. His face looked pale as he read it.

_WANTED – REWARD_

_For the capture of the ghost Carolyn Plasmius, notorious wife of Vlad Plasmius. Wanted for causing trouble, messing with the timeline and ghostly mischief in the human realm and the Ghost Zone._

"This is unsettling." Vlad muttered as he examined the poster. The wanted poster had a picture of Carolyn Plasmius. I suspected this was no doubt the doings of the Time Wrangler.

"Imagine a ghost so unruly that another ghost would but out a reward for it!" Mom exclaimed. I could tell that Carolyn was fighting to keep her temper after mom's comment.

"I hear that Carolyn Plasmius has done a lot of good in this town. I recall she fought Pariah Dark." Carolyn defended trying to suppress her emotions of anger and frustration.

"I heard that Ms. Plasmius only had to defend the town because her husband Vlad Plasmius had stolen the Ghost King's ring in the first place!" Mom retorted. I could tell Carolyn was losing patience.

"Well I saw Ms. Plasmius rescue some cat out of a tree including our dear Maddie." Carolyn almost snapped back.

"It was probably a ghost that spooked that cat in the tree in the first place." Mom replied. Carolyn rolled her eyes up and threw her hands in the air.

"I give up!" She muttered as she walked off toward the restroom.

"And sometimes I've even seen the two Plasmius' fight and argue with each other. They're two hot tempered ghosts that are especially just asking for trouble! I can't understand why she would even want to defend either of them." My mom added which did not help the situation. I could sense Carolyn's stress emanating from her ghost signature. I knew how she felt. Even Danny Phantom despite all I have done for the town still had to endure criticism from my parents who still didn't fully trust him for being a ghost.

"What's eating Carolyn?" My mom asked as she noticed Carolyn taking some time before returning.

"She probably is just on edge because she is stressed because of all the ghost happenings lately." My dad added which didn't help matters any. I tried to diffuse the situation any way I could.

"Well I overheard Danny Phantom say that Mr. and Mrs. Plasmius are taking anger management classes as Mrs. Plasmius is especially concerned with trying to help the town with unruly ghosts, even at times when it is her own husband." I said and winced as Vlad took a look back at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Ha! Imagine, ghost couples taking therapy!" My mom scoffed and Vlad immediately tensed up, not so much at the criticisms my mom was making about their alter egos, but he hated the mention of therapy. It was one of those trigger words for him as he told me about his dad looked down at therapists and often would tease anyone having to see one as being 'weak'. Poor Vlad had it rough with his perfectionist father. I tried to change the subject.

"There's a specific project I'm working on and Nathan is helping me with it. It's a homebuilt musical keyboard for a future science fair." I said hoping to further ease the tensions. Carolyn came back out to the living room composed...for the moment.

"Maybe you can build a keyboard that chases ghosts away." My dad said with a smile. He was always obsessed with new ways to fight and capture ghosts. My dad like my mom was just that way. The irony of his statement was profound as I was actually trying to use this keyboard to lure rather than chase away ghosts, my specific target being the ghost fish creature should she wander away from the lake. Carolyn walked over to Vlad and hugged him to help comfort herself. She was still pretty flustered at my mom's comments but was more relaxed this time around.

"Oh Danny, thanks for watching the cat." Carolyn said with a wink. I knew that was code to mean the situation was under control as she would be watching the fish creature.

I secretly merged my duplicate back with me as I packed up some last minute items including my keyboard project and said my goodbyes to the Masters family as I left with my mom and dad to head back to Fentonworks. It was exciting to be heading back home so soon, the only downside here however was I couldn't just relax fully as I had to keep my ghost powers hidden. Even though deep down I was convinced my folks would accept me if they ever found out, I didn't dare chance it.

When we finally drove up to Fentonworks I saw Jazz emptying out the trash. She saw me and bubbled up with surprised.

"Hey Danny!" She hollered as she ran up and gave me a semi hug as I stepped out of the speeder, keeping her hands held upward so as not to get trash smell on my clothes.

"Hey, I'm home early this time." I grinned.

"What do you have there?" Jazz asked. She knew that I was working on a second keyboard unit but never got the chance to look at one in its half built state.

"It's the keyboard unit that will become a whole second unit for the project I'm working on at school." Jazz knew that most of the time, when I used the word 'project' it actually meant I was working on something ghost related. I didn't dare tell mom and dad as too many questions would be brought up that I preferred not to answer. I waited for my folks to walk ahead and I leaned to Jazz's ear and whispered.

"This is actually a second keyboard unit designed to capture the original fish creature we first encountered. I have it in case one or both wander off again." I confided to her. Her eyes got wide as she again glanced at the bag of parts that would become the next unit.

"That's great Danny. Hopefully we can convince the female we're not a threat and find a safe habitat for both of them." Jazz said. As she was talking I received a text from Carolyn.

"Male fish creature has vanished and I teleported to the lake but no sign of him, just the female is here." Carolyn's message read.

"I'm on it." I text back. Keeping these creatures from wandering off was next to impossible and still we had no sure way to contain them in the meantime.

I immediately sent an invisible stealth duplicate to teleport to the lake to check on the ghost. When I arrived I didn't see sight or sound of the male creature and I could tell the female was getting restless.

"It's OK, I'll find your mate." I promised her. She clicked sounds at me that sounded like worried nervous clicks as I teleported my duplicate back to me.

"Oh oh." I said and Jazz did a double take, looking at me confused.

"What's the matter?" She asked as I tried to gulp down my worries but that didn't work.

"I can't locate the male fish creature." I replied somberly. I had no idea where he had gone. I thought the tea herbs would've calmed him down to rest, but apparently he had other plans. My duplicate did notice a clue on the lake shore using ghost vision to spot it. There was a glowing green large fish print on the ground. I suspected it was the creature's as I saw several patches shaped like a big fin around the area. Before my teleportation back I tracked the glowing patches of energy till there was no more left. The patches were in the direction of Amity Park.

"Did the creature leave a trail?" Jazz asked.

"Yes...I should've known he might do this. It's like he just wants to explore Amity Park." At least on the bright note, that the creature might return to Carolyn. If he returned to Carolyn then he wasn't going to be wondering the streets to possibly end up being caught by my folks. But that was a big 'if'.

"You can't blame yourself Danny. The creature is probably hiding somewhere but we'll find him. Just concentrate keeping the fish's mate happy at the lake should be the next priority till they both are together again." Jazz said trying to allay my fears.

"I know it's impossible to keep our creature contained until we have the other one. No Fenton Thermos can even hold them. We need to find a habitat where they are free but safe. Somewhere in the Ghost Zone." I explained as I sent my duplicate one more time to try to locate the missing male fish. It was difficult talking to Jazz while part of my attention was focused on my duplicate. I flew up high to see if I could spot anything out of the ordinary so I flew to the mansion. As I entered I saw Carolyn in the living room lying tummy down on the couch while reading a magazine. Once again and I shouldn't have been surprised, I spotted the male fish creature having returned. He was semi translucent, hovering over her and apparently massaging her back with his finger like fins. She hadn't text me back and must've thought it was Vlad giving her a back massage.

"Hmm, that feels good honey, a bit more to the left." She mumbled seeming half out of it. I didn't know what to do at the moment. If the creature spotted me I might spook him as he wouldn't be expecting me. I flew straight over to Vlad who was in the kitchen.

"Daniel, I can sense you here you know. What are you doing here?" He asked as he was preparing some tea.

"Our male creature followed Carolyn's scent to here. He's in the living room right now." I said to Vlad as he then put down the teapot and walked slowly into the living room. The fish creature now was massaging the middle of her back. Vlad looked at what was happening and looked back at me.

"Hilarious...now what do we do?" Vlad whispered in frustration. I could tell he was somewhere between jealous and amused.

"I shouldn't have left him alone at the lake, I should've left my duplicate there with him." I apologized. I hated it when I ran out of ideas. This creature just kept my brain working overtime and I was running out of ways to keep him with his mate.

"Maybe we can give him some more relaxation tea with the chunky clam sauce flavoring. Hopefully it will relax him some more at least." Vlad suggested as he walked slowly and quietly approached up to where Carolyn was and leaned over toward her ear.

"Honey, don't be startled but the creature is behind you and has been giving you a back massage." Vlad whispered to her. Her eyes got big but she remained calm as she took a deep breath and slowly turned around. Vlad moved back a bit and the creature seemed to notice him with a slight turn of the head but then continued massaging.

"Oh boy, he's back." Carolyn said as she sat up slowly into a sitting position and the creature then repositioned himself hovering next to her.

"So what do we do now?" Vlad asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Vlad, I need you to let him know you're my mate. This is going to sound strange dear but I need you to lick my face." Carolyn said trying to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Vlad rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

"Daniel, don't you dare take any pictures, understood?" Vlad requested.

"No pictures Fruitloop." I said as I tried to keep my composure as Vlad then proceeded to slowly lick Carolyn's face. It was the weirdest and funniest thing I had ever seen in my life. The fish creature cocked his head as if thinking about what he was seeing and just continued to hover.

"Danny, please make some more calming tea." Carolyn requested as she tried to muffle a giggle as Vlad straight up continued to lick her face.

"I'm already on it. We can calm the creature down some more." I added.

"This extra tea wont include the chunky clam sauce, this tea is for Vlad and me." She said dryly as Vlad nuzzled his nose against her check imitating the gestures the fish creature did. The creature began to float toward Carolyn again and she slowly reached up a hand to keep him at bay. The creature flinched as her hand neared his face, almost acting as if he was injured.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say this creature is hurt." Carolyn commented as she watched the creature's behavior.

"I don't see any visible scratches, maybe he's got hidden injuries ..." Vlad trailed off as he looked at the creature. I could tell that Vlad suspected the creature was hurt, even though he appeared OK.

"He seems to act like it's his face." Carolyn said as she placed her hand slowly, gently on the face of the creature. The moment she did the creature again backed away and made a single dolphin-like chirp. Carolyn walked over to a desk drawer and pulled out her dermal pen.

"I'm setting this to a low setting as I know most sea life is sensitive to sunlight. I think this creature may have a hidden case of ecto-acne." Carolyn said as she turned on the dermal pen and began to wave it over the creature's face. At first the creature flinched until the beam of light appeared to sooth it. Instinctively the creature held still as the pen waved slowly over his face and his eyes slowly closed, as if experiencing a relieving feeling. After a few minutes the creature began to make a soft cooing sound with its eyes shut. It seemed to hover still, slowly waving its fins as if it was in an aquarium. Carolyn put her hand gently on the creature's cheek and it didn't flinch this time.

"It must've been in terrible pain for such a long time yet chose to hide it." Vlad added. Vlad seemed to be able to empathize with the creature's suffering. Although he never actually experienced the timeline where he had to spend years in the hospital, he somehow could still imagine the experience so vividly that it was almost as if he had experienced it. Unlike Vlad, this poor creature didn't even have the opportunity of a hospital when he was injured being pulled through in the portal blast.

Carolyn cradled the creature's face in her hands as the creature opened his eyes slowly. I don't know what he may or may not of understood, but Carolyn's actions spoke louder than words. She had helped the creature from the painful hidden sores that may have been similar to Vlad and Carolyn's human version of ecto-acne. Now the creature appeared to be pain free and seemed to perk up some as he lifted a fin to Carolyn's face. This may have also explained the creature's desire to wander. It was probably looking to run from the pain that he could not understand.

"Car-o-lyn." We all heard come out of the strange ET like voice of the fish creature. I suspected it was his way of saying 'thank you' to her. His words were intermixed with clicks and chirps as he bobbed his head and hovered in a circling motion, his tail fin flopping as if he was trying to dance across water.

"Your welcome. Do you feel better now?" Carolyn replied as the creature floated up to her and gave her quick lick on the nose and then began to float a few feet away. The creature thought for a moment on Carolyn's words.

"Better." The creature replied. He was actually communicating. We had just placed the first keyboard out there to teach him to talk like his mate could, and yet he was already communicating! Although just simple words and phrases he was catching on in leaps and bounds by ordinary learning standards, and these were no ordinary conditions.

"Carolyn, you've got to film this! Wait till I tell Jazz." I said as Carolyn grabbed her phone and filmed him as he continued saying simple words. The creature then decided to fly up and around circling the ceiling as if celebrating his new found recovery.

"He seems to be calming down quite a bit. We need to get that second keyboard up and running so we can leave it at the lake in a hidden place. Maybe the keyboard will intrigue them enough not to wander." Carolyn said as the creature finally had enough of ceiling acrobatics and floated over Carolyn hovering down beside her on the sofa and laid his head a top hers.

"And now we're back to square one. At least he's not hurting anymore." Vlad sighed as he hugged Carolyn on the other side of the sofa.

"I hope that Carolyn hasn't replaced the creature's mate." I added knowing how the creature had acted around Carolyn.

"Don't even think that Daniel." Vlad cautioned as he looked at me. He too was worried about the creature's attachments issues. This creature had been helped a lot by Carolyn as well as looking so similar to his mate especially when she was in ghost form.

"Do you think things are under control here or do you want me to stay a while longer?" I asked. My energy was wearing thin as I was not use to being this long in duplicate form. It was especially hard because I still had to answer questions and be cognizant at Fentonworks. Such a feat which wasn't easy when dad started showing off his ghost gadgets and would grill me on what different ghost weapons did what.

"I think things are pretty much under control for the moment. I suspect the creature will have to sleep with us tonight and Maddie will have to move over as being a possessive cat likes to share the bed with us as well. This creature seems to be very needy and doesn't like being alone." Vlad replied as the creature had fallen asleep against Carolyn's side, his body somewhat sitting and he was leaning into her while on the sofa.

"OK, I'll head back to the my house. Text me if you need me." I offered and Vlad smiled.

"I'll let you know if we need any help Little Badger." He replied in his calm authoritative voice. I breathed a sigh of relief hopeful that the creature would stay put at least and out of sight. I teleported my duplicate back to Fentonworks and merged. As I did I could feel all my focus shifting onto what my dad was saying.

"How are ya doin' son?" My dad asked. I looked a bit puzzled as this was a question one would normally ask if I first walked into the house, but I had been there for quite a while now.

"Fine, why do you ask?" I asked.

"You looked like you zoned off there for a moment. I guess you must've had a long day at school." Dad replied. He really had no idea. Multiple teleportation, turning invisible and trying to figure things out on the spur of the moment really took its toll on me. I can't imagine what my grades would've been like had I not had the support system that I do now. I would most likely have been held back a grade in the long run. Now I only had to deal with being a bit fatigued. Thankfully I was already caught up on all my homework.

"I've been pretty tired. I guess I better get to work on the science project and get that keyboard up and running." I said as I prepared to excuse myself.

"That's good you're taking an interest in technology." Dad added as he perked up listening about my project.

"It's sometimes tough but its rewarding to be able to build new things. Is it OK if I give Tucker a call and maybe he can come over and help me work out any bugs?" I asked hoping he wouldn't mind if I had company over. I knew Sam was still busy all this week but I needed Tucker's geek savvy to help me fine tune this second keyboard.

"Sure you can. Maybe after he helps you maybe he can help me with my Fenton Bazooka." My dad suggested. I knew Tucker didn't really like working with my dad on projects as sometimes dad tended to bumble things up.

"I don't think Tucker's dad wants him working on anything ghost related." I saw my dad's expression fall with disappointment.

"Aw shucks." My dad groaned as he looked down at the floor like a kid being told he couldn't stay up to watch the late show. I had to offer something to cheer him up without putting Tucker into harms way.

"But that doesn't mean he can't look over your shoulder from time to time and give some advice." I added. My dad's face immediately lit up in hope. I knew Tucker could back away from my dad's shoulder pretty quick if things went south in the experimental department. I pulled out my phone and text Tucker.

"I'm back at my parents house and wondered if you could give me a bit of technical help." I asked him.

"Sure Danny. I can head straight by the house tomorrow, it should be fine with my dad." Tucker replied. I was amazed how quickly he could text but he was a very fast typist from all the computer programming he did.

"Sounds great, see ya then." I replied back. I was relieved that Tucker could help me with this. I needed a second pair of eyes to make sure there was no problems with the keyboard's function. I thought about Sam saying she would be busy all week but decided to text her anyway.

"Sam, hi...I'm back at my parent's house early. Are you there?" I asked waiting for a reply. It was about minutes when I finally received a text from her.

"Sorry Danny, I'm in the middle of a huge vegan awareness presentation. I'm getting ready to give it to the cafeteria school board as early as Monday. I need to make sure I have a convincing argument as I know most of the school really loves their meat choices. I'm probably going to be tied up until day after tomorrow." Sam text back.

"Bummer, well I'm asking Tucker to help me check out the second keyboard unit to keep the fish creatures from wandering away from the lake once their back together." I text back.

"Why a second unit, why not grab the first one?" Sam asked.

"Because I thought it would increase the odds with one unit in the Ghost Zone and the other here in case one of them wandered back into the Ghost Zone. Besides the one in the Ghost Zone had shorted out and even though it appeared to start working again it might not be up to par." I text back. I really needed to learn to type faster.

"Well, hope it succeeds in keeping them together." Sam text back. I decided I best explain some of the predicaments that I was having with the male fish creature.

"There's another complication; the male creature followed us and is staying at Vlad's. It also got zapped with electrical energy and is now fully visible and able to interact with this universe I guess." It was always a guess with dealing with this unknown life form that might not even be a ghost at all, even if the creature had ghost like traits.

"Oh-oh. Sounds kind of risky having a ghost creature hiding in Mayor Fruitloop's mansion." Sam text back with a worried face emoji.

"Carolyn thinks these creatures might not even be ghosts at all but an alien life form that was pulled through the portal accident along with her." I added.

"Why didn't they show up with her when she fell through the portal?" Sam asked.

"The best working theory we have is that the portal acted like a wormhole that interconnected with the Ghost Zone and the creatures didn't arrive completely through opening of the portal but got side tracked into the zone instead. One clip however shows a faint blur that may have been the female creature going through the portal, but the creatures we believe also were not able to fully appear and interact in this universe when they first arrived." I felt like my fingers were going to fall off from all the text. I didn't dare have the phone record my voice to text as I was in hearing distance of my folks. At least I guess this would help sharpen my text typing speed.

" Well if it is an ET, that really complicates things." Sam replied.

"You have no idea." I replied. If the GIW thought the creatures were alien instead of ghost or ghost aliens, then the creatures would fall under Men in Black operatives that deal with aliens, however I know how bad the GIW love to call something that has some ghost properties a ghost just based on that. Thinking over Carolyn's theories again nearly gave me a headache and I still had school tomorrow. I said my goodbyes to Sam and tried to let my brain wind down. I still had a second keyboard to finish.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 The Keyboard to Success

**Klaatu: In this chapter Vlad and Carolyn will have a recurrence of the dreaded ecto acne. I'm going with the notion that ecto-acne is a type of spectral autoimmune disorder of the skin due to exposure of toxic elements in the portal that were not filtered out due to the diet soda as well as the soda's direct interaction with their DNA. **

**Danny certainly has his plate full. In addition to hiding his and the Masters family's powers he now is trying to keep the fish creature safe from being hunted as well. Now bringing it up to speed with our story, we have one fish creature, the male who was exposed to a blast of energy and can now interact in this dimension but the female still fully can't so trying to contain her until they both can be relocated to a safe haven in the Ghost Zone be a much trickier challenge. Additionally Carolyn will begin to experience unusual side effects of being around the fish creatures.**

**As always, enjoy and review.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Checkmate or Endgame.

Danny's POV

I had one of those crazy dreams again. Thankfully this time it was only a dream confined to my room. This hadn't always been the case as since the day our 'visitor' arrived I would sleep walk and even fly in my dreams which went to a whole nother level. In the new timeline I recall how we got into a disagreement over one of my dad's inventions that Fruitloop claimed he had a major part in. This disagreement brewed into a fight that started with us pranking each other until Carolyn stepped in and put a stop to everything, but Vlad did become Mayor over it. Only this time the Nasty Burger didn't get demolished, but Vlad did put some ridiculous restrictions that Carolyn stepped in and finally persuaded him to drop. But even with the new timeline, the old one still creeps into my mind from time to time.

-Flashback-

I was apparently in the old timeline but didn't realize it at the moment. I was understandably angry at Vlad for demolishing the Nasty Burger so I thought it was time to pick a fight with him over at City Hall. He had just given a speech and I phased through the city floor and pulled him into the basement of the City Hall, slamming him against the plumbing. He hardly seemed phased and smirked at me instead as he transformed into Plasmius.

"Why, Daniel! Come to wish your old uncle Vlad good luck, have you?" Vlad taunted at me with a smirk.

"Save it, Plasmius! Whatever you're up to, it ends now ." I wasn't about to let him smooth talk his way out of whatever he was plotting as watched him transform into ghost form. I was surprised with how easy it was to fling him against the piping and decided to do some taunting of my own.

"Oh, I assure you my boy, it is only just beginning." I saw Plasmius charge at me trying to throw a punch. Fortunately I have learned to be fast on my feet as I lurched backwards and grabbed a tube as support while Vlad hovered above me. I then gave him a swift kick in the stomach and sent him crashing through the ceiling of City Hall. It felt wonderful but I was puzzled at how easy it seemed to defeat him.

"Boohoo! It's that it? You forgot to take your supplements! Have a dose of vitamin ME! You lost your edge! Why don't you go back to Wisconsin and look for it? In other words: GET OUT OF MY TOWN!" I hollered at him as I shot through the roof narrowly missing one of his ecto shots at me. At the same time part of me was wondering why this was all happening. Why were we at such opposite ends and at battle. My mind kept reminding me this wasn't suppose to be happening but it was if I couldn't help it.

"Foolish child! Do you really think I'm this weak? I'm more powerful that you'll ever know and even now my power increases! Look! " Vlad replied as he motioned to the voters below casting their votes. I suddenly saw shadowy duplicate versions of Vlad and realized he was about to overshadow the voters. The duplicates moved so quickly and there was nothing I could do as their eyes all began to turn red. Finally I forced myself to focus on the current timeline. Whether this was a dream or realities were actually merging I had to use the one weakness Vlad had above all others.

"What would Carolyn think of you if she found out?!" I shouted as Vlad looked up at me and it was if all the voters below suddenly stopped walking to booths and stood still. Almost like toy soldiers that someone flipped an off switch on. Vlad began to look saddened at my comment and willed all the duplicates up out of the voters.

"Fine Daniel, you may have won this battle. But I promise you there will be a next time!" Vlad said as he flew off. I was uncertain however how many voters may have voted for him before Vlad called the remaining duplicates away. But then something blessed happened...I woke up.

I realized it was just a dream or rather a nightmare, but all was not well. Apparently I found myself at 2 am in the morning floating over the city hall and Vlad was also hovering across from me looking as puzzled and distressed as I. Then I looked over the city hall and actually saw the same holes that I saw in my dream when I punched Vlad through the ceiling.

"Hey, Vlad did we just...?" I was stunned and couldn't finish my sentence.

"I think so Little Badger. But I can't understand why we did this. I remember I was fighting to distract you as I was about to overshadow voters at City Hall. We must've fought in our sleep." Vlad stared back at me, his glowing red eyes actually showed a look of total disbelief.

"I had the same dream! I was fighting you over you becoming Mayor and was angry that you demolished the Nasty Burger." I confessed.

"Not as angry as I am at both of you! What if the GIW had seen you?!" I heard Carolyn's voice in the distance as I saw her approaching us in ghost form. What I heard her say next came as a total surprise to me.

"You two need to grow up and get a time out! Vlad, you stop bullying Danny. It's childish and we went to therapy over this!" Carolyn growled in a voice that almost sounded like a dinosaur. Way to go Carolyn. Then she turned and eyed me.

"And you young man, stop taunting Vlad as much as he might deserve it. You don't want to get the nickname of the spectral version of Dennis the Menace. This fight you two have ends now!" She spat as she looked at both of us.

"Honey muffin, we were apparently dream fighting and were reliving the old timeline. Maybe the Time Wrangler meddled with us." Vlad defended softly as he could tell Carolyn was furious.

"Don't honey muffin me, we're heading home and all of us having a talk." Carolyn laid down the law and after 'the talk' we all agreed to attend two weeks of family therapy. Way to go Vlad although I knew I was as much at fault for letting him get under my skin and going a bit too far in some of my pranks.

-End Flashback-

I put the dream and the flashback behind me as I had to focus on the current tasks at hand. I had a long discussion with Sam and Tucker about Carolyn's alien theories even though I would've rather avoided the topic. It seemed just the mere suggestion of these creatures being extra-terrestrial

in nature spun a whole bunch of new ideas that we played with. The biggest debate came as Sam and Tucker argued what makes a ghost a ghost. Sam argued that even if the creatures were alien, because they exhibited ghost like powers that most likely they were ghosts. Tucker was a bit more open minded and used science to prove his point. He explained how radiation can travel through walls and is invisible which are also two characteristics of ghosts. That was a very good point but I didn't try to take sides as I didn't want to make Sam angry. Just let them debate about it and I just stay out of the arena worked best for me right now. It was more important to focus on the keyboard and it was hard not to be thinking about it while trying to keep focus on school stuff.

As school let out, Sam came running rather enthusiastically as Tucker was walking up.

"Hey Danny, I got most of the work done on the campaign so I can come over today although I might be tied up tomorrow." Sam said excited she could finally find some time off.

"Great! I'm sure it'll be OK with my folks. Maybe you can give some input on the keyboard design." I asked. I knew Sam would probably want the entire thing to look and sound goth like.

"About the keyboard Danny, I think the creature might be more lured to what the sound of sea life may have been like during that period it lived rather than just various letters being musically sounded off." Sam proposed. I had to admit her idea had a lot of merit, but I also noticed the creature was drawn to the sounds or at least so it seemed.

"You might be right, of course the bigger attraction is the fact that the keyboard matches the field frequency of the creature. Something in that first keyboard attracted the male creature." I explained.

"Well, no matter which method works best, I'm jazzed about getting to work and test this latest keyboard unit." Tucker said as he had a look of someone about to enter a candy store who really loved candy. Technology and Tucker were practically inseparable.

I arrived at Fentonworks and we all went inside. I got the OK from my dad as he welcomed Sam and also asked if she was interested in watching any of my dad's latest inventions. She cleverly declined only because she said she was busy helping me with my project so as not to hurt my dad's feelings. She too had seen how some of my dad's inventions didn't always behave like they should and she didn't feel like being splattered with foamer agent like she had on several occasions.

I ran to my bedroom and grabbed the keyboard unit and headed back to the living room when I heard a knock on the door and sensed Nathan's ghost signature. As I suspected Nathan wanted to be in on the action of getting the keyboard tested as well. My mom walked to the door.

"Ms. Fenton, is it alright if I come in?" Nathan asked.

"Why certainly, come on in. Danny has quite the science project that he's working on." My mom answered as Nathan walked in and spotted us all in the living room.

"I had a monster term paper I just finished. How goes the keyboard?" Nathan asked as he eyed the unit. I wanted to take the keyboard to the lab but chose to work on it here as I knew in the lab my dad would be there and I didn't want anything to happen to the unit.

"It's almost ready, just running a few more tests." I replied. I wanted to add some extra safeguards to keep it from discharging an arc of energy like the last one did.

"You look exhausted." Sam commented as Nathan had similar dark circles under his eyes that his dad had. Nathan leaned in and spoke quietly so only we could here.

"I had to write this crazy term paper about my life and had to be so careful about the answers. Being careful to conceal I was a half-ghost or rather a human endowed with super mutant ghost like powers took a lot of double checking. Being half-ghost was something I experienced all my life and so I had to be careful when I mentioned my first year I learned to walk. I couldn't mention that I flew before I learned to walk despite badly wishing I could have." Nathan explained sounded tired. I knew how he felt but couldn't imagine having grown up with such powers. Being able to do things like fly and disappear would be normal to him and yet he had to keep it concealed or risk the wrong people finding out.

I turned on the keyboard as I propped the screen upright. I looked at the readouts on a monitor that was connected to it.

"It's looking good. So far the monitor readouts are all steady with no voltage spikes. I'm going to test the musical keyboard tones." I announced as I prepared to hit a few keys. I was excited with this second keyboard as I adjusted the keys to have a longer sustained playback when a key was pressed. As I tested each key I heard a slight crackle. Tucker reached in his backpack and whipped out a soldering iron and plugged it in.

"Sounds like here might be a loose connection." Tucker guessed.

"OK, let's look at the circuit board." I suggested. I worked with Nathan earlier on a way to harden its construction so parts couldn't be reverse engineered or tampered with. The unit needed to be fully independent so it could work on its own if something unforeseen interfered with our ability to communicate with it.

"Here's the problem." Tucker said as he saw a wire that was loose from its connection and reinserted and soldered it. I tested the notes again and this time the static was gone. Sam was looking intently at the circuit design.

"Have you thought about making it water proof?" Sam asked. I looked at her a bit shocked that I hadn't considered the fact that these creatures being fish-like might decide to actually pick up the keyboard and take it underwater.

"I'm glad you thought of that Sam. I'll make it as waterproof as possible but I will install a system that shuts down power if water is detected near any circuits just to be safe." I replied. I was impressed that Sam thought about this. We guys were so busy we all overlooked the possibility of the unit being exposed to water and these were fish ghost creatures. I was extra thankful that Sam was here.

"Danny, if you put pure paraffin on the keyboard that can help protect it from moisture as well. I suggest installing a protective circuit for water exposure. I packed some that you can take a look at." Tucker offered as he showed me his compliment of many circuit designs. I was really impressed with one design that looked rather robust and picked it out from the group.

As I connected the circuit I heard the sound of scratching feet and claws and then a blur of white fur shot past us. It was Maddie but I wondered how she got here. Then I remembered the bag I brought that also had the herbs and the chunky clam sauce. A drop must've gotten on the bag and Maddie being the cat she is probably decided to sneak into my backpack carrying the bag to find the source of the aroma.

"Man, Maddie is here! I'll have to let Vlad know so he won't have a fit." It was so awkward calling the cat the same name that was my mother's name. Vlad use to have a crush on Maddie until he fell for Carolyn. If he had named the cat Carolyn it would've caused confusion as that was the name of his wife, so Maddie got to keep her name.

"I'm going to text Vlad and let him know his cat is here." I sent a text with a pic of Maddie and a 'guess who stowed away in my bag' to Vlad.

"Oh butter biscuits!" Vlad replied back in one of his pastry curses text. "Just bring her back by the mansion on your way to school tomorrow." He added. Maddie was a very clever cat that kept Vlad and the Masters family on their toes. I wouldn't be surprise if she actually did know how to play chess.

"Badger, I can take Maddie home if she's being too much trouble." Nathan suggested but I could wait on that. I was determined not to deprive Nathan of the final testing being done on the keyboard. He put a lot of work into it as well and it wouldn't have been the accomplishment it had without his help.

"Just wait till we're done here. She shouldn't be a bother." I suggested.

"I can grab some string and keep her busy so she doesn't get an interest in the keyboard anyway." Nathan offered and took out a piece of shoelace he had in his back pocket and tossed it around the floor making it look like a snake, to which Maddie kept stalking and then pouncing on it.

As we continued testing the screen display along with the keys I heard a shriek from Jazz.

"Dad, you got me foamed again! Now I have to change!" Jazz complained.

"Sorry honey, I tired to fix the foamer so it would sense if a human was in the way of a ghost. It was suppose to not fire. I don't know what could've gone wrong." My dad replied in the background.

"Sounds like family fun time." Nathan grinned sarcastically.

"I am so glad we're working on this in the living room away from the lab!" Sam said quietly.

"Amen to that." Tucker muttered. We didn't want to appear rude and I didn't want my dad to feel bad, but this project was too important to have it get foamed on by accident.

"Well, let's keep focus. I'm going to try some more keys." I said as I pressed some keys and watched to see if the right letter was being shown on the keyboard. As each letter was sung it appeared along the screen. When I pressed the Enter key everything went blank again. It was rudimentary but it needed to be simple so as not to confuse either fish creatures. I pressed some more notes but then I heard notes being played that I didn't press. I thought it might be a glitch but when I looked on the circuit monitor, the keynote was sounding as if being interacted with by an external field of energy. That could only mean one thing.

"Guys, I think the creature might be here." I said as another note would sound on its own.

"You sure it's not a glitch?" Nathan asked.

"I suspect there is something that is triggering the notes to play and the keyboard is designed to do that if the creature is present." I explained. Sam looked puzzled.

"Remind me again why we can't see this creature but can see the other one?" Sam asked. I knew it was confusing to keep it all straight.

"The latest creature, the male fish creature was exposed to an arc of energy from the keyboard that was overloaded and shorted out in the Ghost Zone. We believe that energy caused that fish creature to become visible and interact in our reality. The female still currently is limited in interacting with us." I explained. Sam still had a blank expression on her face. I did my best to explain it.

"Why not just expose the female to the arc of energy that the male fish creature was exposed to?" Sam asked. If only it was that simple.

Because none of us is certain what level of energy was expelled that hit the male fish creature. Not knowing this could harm or even kill the female." I cautioned.

"So in the meantime we're left hearing it play notes on its own and no way to truly contain the female fish creature?" Sam asked sounding frustrated. My frustration level was building to a new mountainous height as the notes kept playing randomly.

"Dude, can you change the frequency slightly and see if the notes stop playing on their own. Then we'd know is it very definitely the fish creature." Tucker suggested. I nodded and unscrewed a back compartment and adjusted the tuner just a half turn. The frequency was altered by a tenth of an ecto unit, but it was enough to make a difference and the strange phantom notes stopped humming. I tuned it back to the way it was and the notes started up again.

"I'm surprised the creature didn't show up on the ghost monitor but it is tricky because of it being out of phase." I commented as I could tell Nathan was probably thinking the same thing I was.

"Badger, we need to get this keyboard and ultimately the male fish creature back to the lake so as to lure the female fish creature, that is when it's safe to do so. I spotted an area in one of my photos while I was recently in the Ghost Zone where sea like creatures tend to roam that isn't far from the Realm Beyond Time. In all of my photos I've never seen any territorial fighting going on in that area of the Zone so they might be safest there. The male creature might decide to open a portal to the Ghost Zone and persuade her to at least come with him to where these other sea like ghost creatures dwell." Nathan suggested. This sounded hopeful but I had to state the obvious concern that might hinder that plan.

"This is assuming the male creature and the video clips on the keyboard screen convince the female that we didn't kill her kind and so she hopefully stops her random attacks." I reminded Nathan. Just because the male fish was getting along with us didn't mean the female had given up on her vendetta.

"Nathan, you need to teleport with the keyboard after you leave the house." I whispered to him. He nodded but before we could do anything else the lights began to flicker as a few more notes hummed from the keyboard.

"Not again." I winced at the thought that the creature might be up to her old habits again. I pressed on a switch to the clip showing the Ordovician event and hoped she was paying attention to the images as well as what was being said. I don't know if she paid attention or no as I saw the screen on its own go black momentarily and then jumbled letters began to appear.

"W-h-e-r-e-r-u..." Appeared on the screen The musical letter sang as each letter was pressed. The she creature was communicating.

"The creature must be trying to find out where her mate is." Tucker replied. I stepped up to the keyboard and switched the setting so that words rather than letters would be pronounced.

"Go to the big lake." Appeared on the screen as I typed. Each word was said aloud. The creature might not understand fully so I loaded a picture of Lake Eerie on the screen and hoped she might understand. As I showed the picture the lights went out in the house. Great! I don't know if it was her fault or just a coincidence. Tucker received a text alert on his phone.

"Man Danny, the lights are out to most of the city. This is crazy!" Tucker said. We both looked at the keyboard but nothing else was typed on it.

"Do you suppose the creature did it. I know this isn't a popular questions but we must face the possibility Danny." Sam added.

"I don't understand. She saw that clip of the Ordovician event and she seems to understand our language." I sat puzzled as I looked at the now blank screen.

"She's been away from her mate for years, there's no telling how it might've affected her. She might not even fully trust us even though knowing the whole truth." Sam said. It was something we hadn't yet fully considered the gravity of the emotions these creatures must be experiencing.

"I guess it would be like me being separated from everyone I know for years. I probably would be bitter and take a while to adjust at first. Then you have the GIW and my folks chasing these creatures. It isn't any wonder that the she creature might not fully trust us despite being shown the truth of what happened to her and her kind." I ruminated. There were no easy answers. Then as we spoke the keyboard shut down for no apparent reason.

"Great, a glitch now of all times!" I cursed my luck. I knew now the keyboard wouldn't be ready to be taken to the Lake I figured this glitch out.

"That's odd. I'm running a scan on the circuits and everything checks out OK. Did you put brand new batteries in the unit?" Tucker asked me.

"Yes I did. I don't know why the thing just shut down. I guess we'll have to take the unit apart and see what's up." I said as I switched the unit to 'Off' and began to unscrew it to look at the circuit board and the wires to the batteries.

"Well I can troubleshoot it. It is probably fixable. Once the keyboard is working again I'll let you know." Tucker said confidentially.

"I can check with my dad to see how long the power's out for. He has a special alert line since he's a city employee." Nathan suggested as he text Vlad to get a status on the outage. He looked on his phone and waited a few minutes and then decided to speed dial. As he looked at his phone he began to show concern on his face.

"Something's wrong. My dad isn't picking up." Nathan said as he hung up his phone.

"We should both go and leave duplicates of us behind." I suggested. Tucker and Sam had a look of concern at the statement.

"Dude, you know the last time you left your duplicate was at school and it wasn't pretty. A zombie would've had more life to it!" Tucker insisted. I was frustrated that my ability to leave behind a semi intelligent duplicate was still an area I had yet to perfect when duplicating.

"I could have my duplicate look like I'm playing checkers with Tucker. Then the most the duplicate has to do is stare off into space and move the pieces around." I suggested. Tucker raised an eyebrow in skepticism.

"I may have to help you move the pieces. You know at times you just wore a blank stare, saying very little and doing less when you left your duplicate at school. Of course I could tie a string to your hand to move the checkers pieces. That might work!" Tucker thought. OK, I was really a full blown zombie at times when in duplicate form. Sometimes I was more sharp, other times as a duplicate my attention was divided too much and my duplicate went on autopilot but not always in a good way.

"You two need to see what's going on at the mansion. Let Nathan go ahead first." Sam said sounding confident in the plan.

"OK, I'll head out the door and find a hidden area to teleport to the mansion. See ya soon Badger." Nathan said as he walked out the door thanking my mom for allowing him over on such short notice. As soon as he shut the door I closed my eyes and split myself up. I teleported my invisible self from my home at Fentonworks, leaving a duplicate of me behind as I saw the world change to again be inside the living room on the mayoral mansion. Everything looked darker naturally with the power being off.

I spotted Nathan in ghost form as I materialized. The area seemed very quiet and as we looked around until we finally spotted Vlad and Carolyn on a far corner sofa sitting up and staring blankly as if in a trance. Nathan walked up to them.

"Mom...Dad?" Nathan walked up and snapped his fingers. They were both in a deep trance and the only way he could wake them up was to zap them with his ghost powers.

"I hate doing this." Nathaniel confessed as he carefully placed a hand on each of his parent's shoulders and did a gentle zap with his ghost powers. They both jumped up for moment, plopped back down on the sofa, shaking their heads as they snapped out of their trance.

"What happened?" Vlad asked as Carolyn blinked her eyes several times.

"You were in a daze. I guess the creature did this?" Nathan guessed. Vlad nodded wearily.

"Where's the creature?" I asked. Vlad took a deep breath and looked at Carolyn.

"The last thing I remember was trying to calm the male creature down then all of the sudden it was as if he was sensing something and began making strange clicking sounds. The next minute you're here. We didn't even know we were out." Carolyn explained.

"Well, we saw evidence that the she creature was in the presence of the keyboard. Then the power went out all over the city. I hope this is just a coincidence." I added feeling forlorn at the turn of events. We then heard a knock on the door. It was Tucker.

"Hey, don't tell me that Sam is covering for my duplicate playing checkers." I said as I saw Tucker holding the keyboard unit.

"OK, I won't tell you, but last I saw it looked like she was beating your duplicate pretty bad." Tucker replied with a smirk. Oh well, at least Sam would have something to laugh about later. She even beat me at a game of chess. Nathan looked at some emergency lights in the hallway and shook his head. He was still concerned about the blackout.

"I wonder if the creature may have caused this latest power outage." Nathan wondered.

"I don't think we may ever know. The official report Vlad is getting was a power transformer overloaded. That could have been from anything, even another ghost." Carolyn stated.

"Well, the only clue we have is the creature typed the message 'where r u' on the keyboard and then the lights went out." Tucker explained.

"Well I hope once they find each other again maybe this time they might decide to leave Amity alone." I said hopefully. I felt myself zone out for a moment as I saw myself staring at a checkerboard momentarily and then refocused back to where I was.

"Danny, are you OK?" Carolyn asked.

"I'm sorry guys, it's just hard as I left my duplicate back at my folks and I keep zoning in to there. I still am a bit shaky at duplicating." I said shaking my head wearily. I needed more practice but I think the stress of the creature was taking a toll on my ghost powers.

"That's odd, I feel kind of tingly all of the sudden." Carolyn added as she began to close her eyes and rub the bridge of her nose. Vlad leaned into her and held the back of his hand on her forehead.

"Are you alright my dear? You feel a tad bit warm." Vlad asked as he looked into her eyes. Her eyes looked a bit glazed. Hopefully she wasn't coming down with the flu which had been going around Amity earlier this week.

"Mom, let me get you a glass of water." Nathan offered as he walked over to the fridge. Maybe Carolyn was getting the flu or just feeling the effects of dealing with the creatures or maybe both.

"I think I'm just a bit tired. But back to the subject of tracking and capturing the creatures. You know, if the creatures find each again other again they may decide to no longer have any interest in the unit." Carolyn said a bit groggily.

"Well, it should still be worked on. The creatures may still prefer it as a means to communicate with us. How is the testing going?" Vlad asked Tucker who had set the unit down and was looking at the circuit board as he removed the back of the keyboard.

"It's puzzling. I can't find anything wrong with the unit. And we just had a new battery installed in it." Tucker said looking mystified at the thing.

"Try a different battery anyway." Vlad suggested. Tucker looked at him puzzled as Vlad pointed to a drawer at his study. Tucker pulled the drawer open and found a 9 volt battery still in its package. He opened it and switched out the old battery. As Tucker turned the On switch to the unit, the keyboard screen lit up again and he began typing a few letters and the letters were sang while appearing on the screen.

"Wow, how did you know it was the battery Vlad? We had a new one just put in." Tucker asked impressed.

"I suspect the new one might've been bad or perhaps the creature may have drained it." Vlad replied nonchalantly.

"That was a good guess." Tucker confessed looking a bit annoyed at himself he hadn't thought of it.

"Don't feel bad son. I once had a IT class in college. A computer wasn't working and we tried everything but overlooked the fact the chord wasn't plugged in. Sometimes we tend to look for a complicated answer when a simple solution is hiding from us in plain sight." Vlad said with a smirk. Tucker chuckled as he continued to test the unit. Carolyn had gotten up and walked to Vlad sleepily seeming to appear a bit drunk.

"Hey sweetums..." Carolyn leaned into Vlad almost falling over.

"Sweetheart, you need to stay still and rest." Vlad said to her softly as she began to form a goofy smile on her face.

"I wanna cuddle." Carolyn said and grabbed a pillow next to Vlad hugging it, thinking for a moment the pillow was Vlad. When she realized it was the pillow, she set it down and began to put her arms around Vlad. I had never seen Carolyn act so intensely affectionate around Vlad. Vlad blushed a bit as she leaned in and rubbed her nose against his cheek. I could tell that part of him relished the attention but another part of him was embarrassed as we were standing right there. He transformed into Plasmius.

"Think my sugar bear needs to lie down." Vlad said as he swept his arms under her, hoisted her up and carried her floating to the bedroom. Tucker was meantime still buried in the keyboard unit, oblivious to what was going on around him till he finally looked up.

"You guys, I'm going to get the last of the programming tested on this thing and hopefully both creatures will be able to fully sense it and interact with it." Tucker explained as he typed in what looked like some programming command lines and some lines of data followed on the screen. A few minutes later and unexpectedly the power came back on. I ran up to the television and turned it on to see what was happening in Amity. I had a feeling it might involve ghosts or our creatures. As I turned to the news channel I saw Harriet Chin making an announcement.

"This just in. Strange sightings of fish like ghost creatures are coming in. GIW is declaring martial law to bring these elusive creatures to containment. There is no comment as to whether these or other ghosts were involved in the latest mysterious outage gripping the city. More after this." Harriet Chin announced. I muted the TV. I was tired of hearing about it. Although I suspected that at least one of creatures may have caused the outage, we didn't have any definitive proof. I could tell however the media was hinting that the creatures might be responsible. The media was too quick to place blame without fact checking.

"Knowing the GIW, they might do more harm than good and the news will be right behind them justifying every move!" I growled as I turned off the TV.

"Don't let them get to you Badger. Dumb people will always act dumb." Nathan said to me. He hated the ignorance and fear many people had of ghosts as well. His entire family was half-ghost so he felt like he was a victim of ghost racism as was I. I found it unbelievable how some folks allowed bias to get in the way of reason.

"How is the keyboard doing?" I asked Tucker. He lifted his hand to form an OK with his fingers. He was really intently working on the unit. Things were going downhill fast and we needed to get both the creatures safely from those who wanted to harm them.

"Even if we get the creatures back together, we still can't contain them till we find a safe habitat for them. What are we going if they run away again?" Nathan asked me as he kept looking at Tucker working furiously at the keyboard.

"We're Team Phantom. We'll figure something out." Tucker said defiantly as he continued to work on the keyboard. He appeared to have it up and running and then looked at his watch.

"I have the keyboard working at peak efficiency. I need to head home as I promised my dad I'd be home by 7:30." Tucker said as grabbed his backpack and began to head out the door.

"That's cool Tucker. Thanks so much for helping. We'll figure this out together." I said confidentially as he headed out the door.

"Nathan, I'm going intangible and teleport to my mom and dad's and see how my duplicate is doing." I mentioned as he was busy dusting off the keys of the keyboard.

"Yeah, go ahead just hurry back." He said as he turned the keyboard over and dusted the bottom of it. Nathan was if nothing else, thorough.

I went intangible and briefly teleported back to Fentonworks. As I arrived I spied on my duplicated as I had lost conscious contact with it. It was a sad sight to see as Sam pulled a string on my right hand and my hand sloppily moved a checker piece over a square. She would keep saying 'Danny, it's you're turn' or 'Earth to Danny' as I sat staring at the checkers pieces. At least the string on my hand was transparent so no one saw that she was secretly pulling the string. I tip-e-toed up to her and whispered in her ear.

"Hey Sam, it's my Danny." And Sam jumped up for a moment.

"Danny don't scare me like that. Are you going to merge with your duplicate and stay a while?" Sam whispered.

"I wish I could but I'm needed back at Vlad's to help with making sure the keyboard in glitch free. I'm sorry about this." I said to her. I could tell she was trying to hide being visibly upset. She wanted to play checkers with the 'real' me.

"Well, you owe me a checkers game. Your duplicate is lousy on strategy." She smirked. I guess she wasn't as upset as I suspected. Possibly because she was winning all the games.

"I promise I'll be back soon!" I whispered.

"You better." She smiled and I teleported back to the mansion. I phased back into the living room. I had to take a deep breath to strengthen my concentration on where I currently was. This duplication was tougher because I could feel I was fatigued. I was shaken out of my thoughts as I heard Carolyn making a shriek.

"I look hideous! Hideous! Carolyn cried weeping out of the master bedroom as Nathan ran up and knocked on the door.

"Mom, dad...what's wrong?" Nathan asked trying to stay calm after what he just heard. His dad slowly opened the door and we weren't prepared for what we saw. His face along with Carolyn's was covered in the red blotches. The ecto-acne had resurfaced!

"Nathaniel...Daniel...as you no doubt can see, the ecto-acne has returned!" Vlad said in as calm a voice as he could as he covered his face with his hand in agony and shame. Carolyn covered her face as well and wept.

"Mom, dad...you taught me not to let this define you. Acne is not a reflection of our character. We'll get through this together." Nathan returned a pep talk and they both soon quieted down.

"Nathan's right hon. I wont let it define me. But I thought the dermal pen cured us. I guess we need the concoction that Maddie made in the alternate timeline." Carolyn replied. Vlad nodded.

"Daniel, call your parents. I know that Maddie has the cure. It was the diet soda that merged on the atomic level with our DNA along with the ectoplasm. She cured me in the previous timeline, she can do it again." Vlad asked me confidentially. I recall how Vlad acted in the clip I saw of the alternate timeline. In that one he hurled a vial and infected my friends with the ecto-acne as well. As wrong as he was in that timeline, I understood he reacted out of bitterness and betrayal. He thought my dad purposely infected him and killed his social life. Although circumstances were different now, this was the same Vlad but acting differently than before. Now he was asking for help instead of just threatening people.

"I'll ask mom and get this remedy to you as soon as possible." I promised them. I looked again on the video clip of the diet cola incident. I also saw the clip where my mom mixed some ingredients to make the antidote. Nathan went to the kitchen and pulled two small cloths out of one of the drawers and soaked them in warm water under the faucet.

"I'll stay here with mom and Dad, just bring them the cure Badger." Nathan asked. I could tell he was worried for them. He never had a bout of ecto-acne according to Vlad. Apparently being born with half-ghost DNA gave him resistance to the disease.

I willed myself invisible and teleported back to Fentonworks merging with my duplicate still sitting at the small table playing checkers with Sam. I looked up and Sam noticed my facial expression change to someone that was fully aware what was going on around him.

"Glad your back, I was getting tired of pulling your hand around to move the checkers." Sam said with a grin.

"I need to help Vlad and Carolyn, they had a recurrence of the ecto-acne. It's not the end of the world as I have the clip from the other timeline. My mom can compute the cure like she did in the first timeline." I explained. I felt bad having to cut my visit with Sam short, and it wasn't even a full visit as it only was part of me that was a duplicate. A rather mindless duplicate at that.

"I hope they get better. I'll need to be heading home as I need to get back and do some ugh, studying. Oh and by the way, I won the game already, I was just moving your hand around." She smiled as she got up and headed for the door.

"No fair! You got to make all the moves!" I protested as I headed toward the kitchen. I heard her chuckle a comment as she opened the door about 'You snooze, you lose.' I knew a rematch was in order but I had to keep focus on getting the ecto-acne remedy from my mom.

"Mom, Nathan just told me that Vlad and Carolyn have had a relapse of ecto-acne. I saw a clip of the portal accident. It was caused by the diet soda in the ecto filter." I explained.

"Well then they need the organic version of ecto purifier to remove the acne. It's all natural ingredients safe for human consumption. We need them to come here and get them treated right away!" My mom was insistent on bringing the cure to them and administering it herself, but that wouldn't be needed however as Nathan was there and could give it to them.

"Mom, Nathan is taking care of his folks. They'll be fine, all you need to do is compute the cure for the ecto-acne and I'll get it to them." I encouraged her. She gave me one of her skeptical looks but finally relented.

"Very well, but I don't see why they don't come over here and stay here for treatment monitoring while I put an antidote together." Mom felt very guilty about the portal accident my dad caused so of course she would go the extra mile to help them. But Nathan was very competent and had even taken some nursing classes himself.

Mom began mixing ingredients together and then made filled two jars and secured lids on them. She walked over towards me and set the jars down on the mini table.

"Here is the antidote. We'll take the Fenton Speeder over and you can get there faster. And young man, let me know if they don't get better immediately. They should be treated by us no matter how much they refuse." My mom said adamantly. I was nervous riding in the Fenton Speeder and silently prayed that mom was driving. If dad was driving, I wanted the jars inside a cushioned carry container that I used to carry sensitive equipment in my biology class. I decided to load the jars in one of those containers just to be on the safe side.

I heard my mom holler to Jazz to let her know we were heading over to Vlad's. As I walked out the door and then carefully entered and sat down in the Speeder I felt my muscles tense as I saw my dad get in front of the steering wheel. Oh no...dad was driving again!

"Gee dad, don't you think you should let mom drive the Speeder once in a while. She might lose practice on how to drive it." I suggested as I silently prayed he would give up the driver's seat.

"Don't be silly Danny. She can drive this baby with her eyes closed." My dad bragged. Unfortunately my dad's driving was like someone who had their eyes closed. I held on the container with my body and as mom loaded in. I secretly placed an invisible shield around me just for extra safety. Dad backed out and sure enough I heard the neighbor's garbage can fall over.

"We'll have to pick that up when we get back." My mom said calmly. I really didn't understand how she could be so calm with my dad's driving but she was. We headed down the street at break neck speed but thankfully there were no police present so we arrived shortly to the Mayor's mansion and my dad of course rammed into the mailbox knocking it over and barely missing a terrified squirrel. I could've kissed the ground as we all walked out of the Fenton Speeder and headed up to the door. Nathan quickly opened the door as my dad just barely knocked, undoubtedly sensing my ghost signature as I stood on the steps.

"Fentons, come in! My mom and dad got the acne again and I've been putting warm compresses on their sores." Nathan said as we all entered and he walked toward the bedroom door.

"I've got what we're hoping is the cure." I said showing the containers I was carrying as Nathan's face brightened with hope. He ran over to the bedroom where Vlad and Carolyn were resting.

"The Fentons are here and Danny has the antidote!" Nathan said almost out of breath as he lightly tapped on the door. He opened it and Vlad and Carolyn were covered up and hugging each other. I walked up toward them when I heard my dad.

"V-man, and V-woman!" He shouted which startled their eyes open as Vlad mildly annoyed looked at Jack.

"Jack, I can hear you from a mile a way. Please use your soft gentle voice." Vlad pleaded and my dad smiled as I opened up the container and unscrewed each of the jars.

"Sorry V-man. I just get a little worked up sometimes." My dad confessed as I handed a jar to Nathan and my mom walked over to Vlad. As Vlad and Carolyn began drinking the antidote, their sores immediately began to disappear almost miraculously. If only this worked so quickly for regular acne.

"I-I feel better." Carolyn exclaimed as she sat up and began to feel her now healing face.

"Maddie, I know you wouldn't let us down." Vlad said as he gave my mom a weak smile and then looked over at Carolyn. I noticed that Carolyn was still a bit more out of it than Vlad but then her entire body was exposed to the portal blast and diet soda infection. She was healing up nicely though and that was encouraging. Then as Carolyn rolled over away from Vlad my dad came over to Vlad and started pounding Vlad's chest.

"Mr. Fenton, I think that's for a heart attack which my dad is definitely not having." Nathan said as he watched my dad pounding poor Vlad's chest, but again my dad was NOT listening.

"Hold on V-man! My dad said as he continued to hit Vlad in the chest. Vlad gave a look of disbelief and fought to keep his temper.

"I'm fine Jack, now would you stop pounding on my chest?" Vlad asked as my dad finally stopped.

"I'm so relieved that the antidote worked on you two, but ecto-acne is nothing to play with. We may have beaten it but there is no way to know for sure. If it does reoccur you should call us right away. I also suspect both yours and Carolyn's DNA may still be affected somehow by the accident and you should come over so we can run some more tests." My mom suggested. That would be a bad idea however as they would soon discover if they performed the right tests that both Vlad and Carolyn had ectoplasm in their blood and ghost powers.

"Vlad has some equipment here that he can run tests on us to see how we are doing, don't you honey." Carolyn said.

"Why yes. And Nathaniel is wonderful helping us out when we're sick as is you're son Daniel for bringing the antidote here so quickly. He remembered the other timeline and saw the diet soda caused the illness. His quick thinking saved us." Vlad said gratefully. I was more grateful that Vlad wasn't such a crazed up fruit-loop in this timeline although he still had his crazed up moments despite having a better reality. It was just Vlad's nature to be that way.

"Danny, have you heard any more about that ghost fish creature?" Carolyn asked. I knew she was worried about the creatures tendency both to wanderlust. Before I could answer my mom piped up.

"Honestly Carolyn, why do you concern yourself with nasty filthy ghosts! I don't care if you claimed you even dated the Wisconsin Ghost!" My mom protested. I gave her a double look. I couldn't believe that Carolyn actually confessed that but it didn't surprise me that much knowing Carolyn. She probably mentioned it before but I probably zoned out as I sometimes do when I've had a busy day studying.

"Yes, and I am proud of it. He was very charming to me and treated me like a lady. We went to a fine restaurant and he even paid for the bill. He was a gentlemen and when we kissed he made sure to be careful not to poke me with his fangs." Carolyn said. I was getting worried that she might be revealing too much information as she was still a bit groggy from being sick earlier. I had to fight a smirk as I saw Vlad begin to blush.

"Aunt Carolyn. You don't need to tell us all about that. It is special to you and that's what matters." I said trying to keep her from saying too much, but she didn't get the hint.

"Mr. W even rented a limousine and things got real romantic. You should've seen how his red eyes lit as we got cozy and..." Carolyn trailed and then Nathan interrupted.

"Too much information mom!" Nathan said as my mom along with my dad was stunned that Carolyn confessed having a romantic evening with Vlad Plasmius and didn't appear the least bit uncomfortable confessing this in front of Vlad. Little do they know that Vlad Masters and Vlad Plasmius are one in the same.

"Now sugar cookie, you shouldn't tell too much about your wild flirtations with that devastatingly handsome ghost. You might make me jealous." Vlad interrupted her as he reached over to her and gently moved a stray strand of hair from her face. I could see she was giving a very flirtatious look to Vlad.

"V-man, are you certain you're OK?" Dad asked. My dad seemed more oblivious about Carolyn's rantings which was a good thing.

"We both are a lot better, thanks for all your help. Nathan is here and we're doing better now. I promise to call if we start getting sick again." Vlad said and Maddie nodded.

"OK, we'll head out for now. But no matter what time it is, if you need us call us." My mom insisted as I took the empty jars and loaded them back in the carrying container and we left. I dreaded having to ride in the Fenton Speeder again but at least I wasn't having to worry about the antidote spilling this time.

As my dad drove up to the driveway to Fentonworks he bumped the curve trying to miss the fire hydrant. At least he missed the fire hydrant but he looked over to the now dented trash can and noticed the trash was all cleaned up and breathed a sigh of relief. Probably Jazz cleaned things up as she is a compulsive neat freak.

"Well everything looks good now." He said as we all got out of the Speeder again. I knew sometime I would have to confront my dad about safety driving in an armored vehicle. For now I was just grateful to be back home to Fentonworks although part of me wished I could be over at Vlad's preparing to take the keyboard to Lake Eerie. As I thought about it I noticed hearing helicopters and saw two more belonging to the GIW flying over to the lake. I kept checking for news flashes on my phone but fortunately there was no mention of either creature having been spotted again. I think the creatures knew from instinct to stay as hidden as possible. I could only hope as we headed inside and I plopped down on a couch and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Carolyn certainly seemed a bit out of it. I hope she's OK. She must've been delusional rambling about having a love affair with the Wisconsin Ghost." My mom said to my dad. I thought about Carolyn and I noticed she was still much groggier than Vlad. I wondered if I should've insisted on staying and helping out Nathan. I decided to speak up.

"Do you think it might be a good idea if I should stay with Vlad and Carolyn to help out Nathan? Carolyn acts like she was still a lot weaker than Vlad in recovering." I said as I looked to mom. I secretly had another reason for wanting to go back to the mansion; I wanted to help in any way with the second unit being delivered to the lake. If I was at Vlad's I could easily transform and help with Nathan doing the drop off the second unit before even heading to school. I knew an extra hand was always helpful as there were some very feral ghosts hiding at Lake Eerie. I was equally concerned about the creature and his mate. I saw mom and dad look at each other, considering what I had requested.

"Jack, maybe we should have Danny just stay the night. Carolyn was especially ill with the ecto-acne and I know they are getting better, but that stuff is nothing to play with." My mom suggested. My face brightened with hope at the thought of going back there. I missed my folks terribly and loved being home, but I knew I was needed to help Nathan. I knew Vlad and Carolyn would continue to recover nicely, but I worried about the GIW and maybe spotting the creatures if they became careless.

"Son, you OK being at Vlad's one more night?" My dad asked. I was thrilled but was cautious with my reaction.

"I think it would be best to be on the safe side." I replied. We all looked at each other and mom pulled out the keys to the Fenton Speeder and motioned me back to the door. I was hoping that she would be driving this time. I had hoped until I heard my dad say the following."

"Race you to the Speeder!" He said which was unfair as he was almost there. My mom just rolled up her eyes as he made it back to the dreaded driver's seat and opened up the door. As I and my mom loaded in I stiffened and gulped as my dad turned the ignition key. What I wouldn't give for some of the herbal calming tea as dad sped out the driveway and proceeded to bump over a different neighbor's garbage can. At least it wasn't the same neighbor. I text Vlad and Nathan as dad sped like someone fleeing from a disaster. At times it almost seemed like we were breaking the sound barrier as we raced back over to Vlad's driveway, now knocking over a lawn gnome as he missed the driveway completely and was partially up on the lawn.

"I thought that was you." I heard Nathan say as he opened the door. I ran toward him mentally saying 'Save me from my dad's driving!' My folks caught up with me and gave me a hug.

"I thought it was a bit premature for us to take Danny home while your folks are recovering. I think he can be a big help and we don't mind one bit." My mom said and Nathan had a wide grin. He was glad I was back and I was glad I was getting out of the Fenton Speeder for a while.

"Anyway to help V-man and his family." My dad added.

"OK, thanks Mr. and Mrs. Fenton." Nathan said as my dad once again revved the gas as my mom looked a bit nervous. I watched the Fenton Speeder zoom away like a rocket leaving burn marks on the street. I still can't fathom how my dad was able to drive so fast for such a bulky armored car.

"How's everyone doing?" I asked as I walked inside. Nathan gave me a look of concern.

"Dad is doing OK but my mom is still pretty much out of it Badger." Nathan said as I headed in.

"As long as she continues to get better then she should be OK. I'm also worried right now about our fish friends at the lake. Have you heard all the GIW choppers?" I asked Nathan. He shook his head and gave a shrug, not showing significant concern.

"I think the creatures are smart and will continue to hide at least for the time being. We need to get the second keyboard out to the lake, hope the she fish creature finds it and gets exposed to the energy to become tangible enough so that she and her mate can both wear the modified Specter Deflectors and be invisible until we find a permanent hiding place for them." Nathan said. I saw him taking walking over to the a 3D printer and saw him loading some components.

"What are you doing?" I asked. The printer wasn't too noisy but I was still curious with what he was doing until I noticed what was printing out at the other end. Nathan was making two of the Specter Deflectors.

"I knew several times I could've stealthily grabbed a couple of the Specter Deflectors when I was over visiting just as easily as you could have, but I thought it safest to make them heres so that no one would be looking for them." Nathan said.

"That's pretty smart. I didn't know you had blueprints." I commented. Nathan smiled.

"I didn't, I lifted the blueprints one day when I was over, had them copied and them returned them to the Fenton safe." He smirked as he brought the belts over to the coffee table of the living room.

"And you didn't even tell me?" I asked in disbelief.

"I just needed to get it done in a hurry, but then I can duplicate an invisible copy to grab stuff like it's nothing. Don't feel bad Badger, I grew up with these powers. When you've had these abilities all your life it's just as normal as walking or skipping." Nathan said. He was right. He had been born with the powers that to him were just every day abilities he had to keep hidden from the rest of the world.

"Shouldn't we be working on these in the study where the extra lab equipment is?" I asked.

"I brought what we needed to test them out here. I wanted to be in the living room in case my mom or dad needed my help. They're better but I still am keeping a watchful ear to make sure no one relapses. Remember that recovering from the ecto-acne isn't like recovering from a regular human illness where the ghost powers just speed up the process. Since the ecto-acne was a biproduct of them getting their powers, they will take longer to recuperate." Nathan explained.

"I forgot about that. I'm so used to speed healing from injuries after a ghost fight I didn't think it would be different with the ecto-acne." I admitted. I still felt really bad that Vlad and Carolyn had to endure this because of my dad's carelessness with diet soda back in the day. It's something I will probably always feel bad about to a degree, I'm just relieved that neither of them seem to show any bitterness about having the ailment.

"In some ways my mom is tougher than my dad when it comes to skin disorders. That's because she grew up with eczema most of her life. Anyway she insisted my dad take a special class to help him cope and not allow the acne to harm his social life. She should've take the class but felt the acne didn't impact her as much. It probably wasn't even an issue they both thought of as they never suspected there wouldn't be a recurrence till now." Nathan trailed and then placed one of the Specter Deflector belts on a frequency monitor and jotted down some equations.

"If anyone can get them well, it's my mom." I said to encourage Nathan. I could tell he was taking this quite hard. He was the only one in his family not to ever suffer the ecto-acne and perhaps he felt guilt about it. I decided to change the subject since I needed to get a better understanding how Nathan was going to use the Deflector belts to protect the ghost fish creatures.

"So I guess you're working on altering these Specter Deflectors so that instead of repelling ghosts, you plan to alter their frequencies to the frequency that our ghost cores emit when going intangible. That way, in theory they should become intangible so that everything they touch and surround inside the belt becomes invisible as well." I stated. I heard it enough to get the grasp of the idea and almost knew some of the equations by heart. Nathan had a unique ability to make practically any subject easier to understand. Nathan was also a natural math nerd like his dad and would be doing the math crunching to analyze each of our spectral field frequencies when we're invisible and then fine tune the belts so they would emit that same frequency.

"They'll also have to be fully waterproof since our creatures are basically water dwellers even though they can live outside of water. Thank Sam for making us aware of that precaution" Nathan added. Sam was brilliant in her own way and I often wish she could've stayed at the mansion with us as well but she still had problems with Vlad. Seeing how he acted in the other timeline as well as sometimes in this one didn't help matters. I wish I could convince her otherwise but I respected her decision.

Nathan walked over to the jar that was floating in some water and removed it with tongs. I saw the keyboard at the kitchen counter as Nathan carefully poured the paraffin over the circuits and I saw the liquid quickly solidify over the circuit board. He then took a frequency monitor and switched it on. It gave a soft high hum that became inaudible as the device fired up.

"OK Badger, I need you to touch the leads of this frequency monitor and go invisible. The monitor will read what frequency you emit while invisible." Nathan explained. I carefully picked up the two leads feeling like a lab rat and concentrated until I became invisible along with the unit. I felt for the button and pressed it and then it became tangible again. When I was finished I heard a strange clicking sound coming from the master bedroom that sounded like the male fish creature but it couldn't have been him as I didn't sense his signature. Maybe I was just imagining things and ignored it but Nathan noticed the unusual sound as well.

"Great, right while I'm trying to do calculations. I can't a fford to mess this up. Can you check on my folks Badger?" Nathan asked. I walked over and knocked on the door.

"Is everything alright in there?" I asked feeling a bit awkward.

"It's alright Daniel, I think Carolyn just had something caught in her throat...honey what are you doing?" It sounded like Vlad was first talking to me then whispering to Carolyn. I just decided to walk away with the knowledge Vlad said everything was OK. His voice didn't sound like there was a problem. I kept my mind focused on my ghost hearing just to be safe as I headed back to the living room.

"I guess the next step is to test out these belts and see if the altered frequency turns them and what they touch invisible." Nathan said as he opened an area on the back of the keyboard where the frequency tuner was and placed two leads on two wires of the tuner. Nathan then placed a 9 volt battery in a compartment of one of the belts and we held our breath. The belt turned invisible like he predicted and then he grabbed a small pillow and picking up the fading belt wrapped the belt around the pillow. The pillow now also began to fade until they both disappeared. He felt for the switch to shut off the belt and as I heard a click the belt materialized back along with the pillow.

"This is perfect! I have the readout on the back of the belt to know precisely what to program each belt to so total invisibility is achieved." Nathan said feeling accomplished. I did have one obvious concern.

"How will we see the creatures if they are invisible?" I asked. He probably answered this question before but I couldn't remember.

"Simply following their frequency. I have a very sensitive system that can pick up the creatures to almost 10 miles away. I could invest in something that increases that distance but I don't think they will wander far from Lake Eerie for any reason. Also, the belts power wont last forever. This is only a temporary solution until a home is found for them. I also installed a beeper that plays a short sound so softly only we can hear it." Nathan said confidentially. He sounded like he covered all the bases. I was shaken from my thoughts as I heard Carolyn running out of the bedroom looking apparently much better than she did earlier. She ran over to us and looked at the Specter Deflector belts and grinned.

"Hey, Nathan can I borrow one of the belts?" Carolyn asked as she nervously tapped her foot.

"I need these for tests and am modifying them for the fish creatures. If you want I can print one for you." Nathan said and Carolyn nodded. He went to the printer and loaded some more metallic materials into the cartridge and began printing. I notice Carolyn acting oddly as she acted like she was looking at the living room for the first time. I just checked it off to some side effects of her recovering from the ecto-acne.

"Here you go. Just don't wear it or it'll short out your powers." Nathan said as he installed a battery, gave her a key to the belt and handed it along with the belt to her.

"Thank you dear." Carolyn replied as she placed the belt behind her back and tip-e-toed back to the bedroom. Nathan and I looked at each other in doubtful silence. I finally broke the silence.

"Do you think your mom is acting kind of strange?" I asked.

"Yeah she has been a bit off since getting sick with the ecto-acne, but I am puzzled as to why. When I viewed clips of my dad in the alternate timeline he didn't act that way and he isn't now." Nathan replied showing some marked concern.

"Your mom did get a full body zap of diet soda infested portal blast. Maybe the condition temporarily is messing with her head a bit. I just don't know." I said trying to figure out what was going on with Carolyn.

"I know when they first had the ecto-acne neither of them mentioned any strange behavior associated with it. Maybe this is a new symptom. Either way I'm glad your here." Nathan said trying not to get too stressed about his mom. Then just as Nathan prepared the second belt for testing I heard more noise coming from the bedroom.

"You want me to what?!" I heard Vlad's voice say and Carolyn's was muffled even from my ghost hearing.

"Now is not the time sweetheart!" Vlad spoke again sternly. What on earth was she saying? What was going on with her. We listened and I would've felt bad trying to eavesdrop but we were both concerned with the progression of events. Neither of us could continue work as Nathan turned off the frequency monitor and we both just looked at each other and stayed quiet.

"Of course I'll cuddle...wait...Carolyn you little stinker what did you do...why did you do that!?" Vlad's voice which sounded soft at first began to increase in volume. We heard giggling and the next moment I see Vlad running out of the bedroom in his evening bathrobe with a Specter Deflector securely attached around his waist. I could barely contain my laughter and tried really hard. I knew Vlad didn't want to be wearing this as he was running from Carolyn for God knows why.

"Mom?" Nathan asked and gulped as he then saw Carolyn now transformed as Carolyn Plasmius flying out of the bedroom as his dad was running in vain trying to escape from her. She cornered him and then as he turned away she swooped her arms under his and lifted him up in the air. If this was Vlad from the other timeline I would say he was getting what he deserved. However even in this timeline he had been a pain a few times so I laughed quietly to myself as I pondered how to best handle this odd situation.

"Aunt Carolyn, what are you doing?" I asked as she turned Vlad around and had him pinned to the wall as she just looked at him with her fanged grin, her red eyes glowing extra bright. She didn't answer but Vlad did.

"What does it look like she's doing Daniel?! She hunted me eventually capturing me and now I'm her personal trophy!" Vlad replied. I wondered what he meant then I saw Carolyn start to lick him on the face much in the same way the creature licked Carolyn. She made more weird cooing and dolphin-like sounds as she duplicated herself while Vlad was trying to push her away. With almost animal like speed her duplicate wrapped her arms around Vlad to keep him held still. Nathan's eyes widened and he began to blush as she continued to lick Vlad's nose and then sniff his face like a cat. This was so totally nuts.

"Mom...you're embarrassing me. Mom, can you hear me?" Nathan pleaded but it was no use. She with her duplicate floated down and released Vlad as he began to run away but only to have her merge and follow him.

"It's extra fun when you try to run away." She said almost seeming oblivious to us being there. I saw Vlad run around the corner and Carolyn floated behind. I know she could've already teleported or not let Vlad go in the first place but it seemed like she was toying with him. Almost like a playful combo between a dolphin's playful behavior and a cat. This was truly the weirdest thing I had ever seen.

"I wanna cuddle." I heard Carolyn's voice out of the back room. I saw Nathan cover his face now looking stunned with embarrassment.

"Control yourself woman the kids are here!" Vlad said as I heard more strange clicks coming from Carolyn.

"This is a really wild guess but I don't think this is from the ecto-acne but the ecto-acne may have triggered something else." I decided to theorize.

"What do you mean Badger?" Nathan said now looking visibly frustrated.

"She was around the male fish creature for some time. What if the creature may have exposed her to some neurotoxin?" I suggested as Nathan raised an eyebrow at me.

"I suppose it's possible. Dad told me she had to intangibly hide the creature within her so they could escape Walker's jail. The ecto-acne may have weakened her immunity enough that whatever this is might just now be affecting her. She's even acting more like one of the fish creatures." Nathan admitted. This was truly unsettling. Here we were trying to save the creature along with it's mate. Now Carolyn was needing saving as well as Vlad.

"Missed you..." I heard Carolyn say softly as she stroked Vlad's hair and sniffed his face some more. It was like watching one of those animal shows except this was Carolyn!

"Baby, you're not well...this isn't you right now." I heard Vlad say softly. Everything was very quiet and I decided to share our theory with Vlad as he kept trying to get the Specter Deflector belt off. Each belt had it's own specific key and Carolyn cleverly took the key that could unlock the belt on Vlad. I saw her dangle it in front of his nose and he tried to grab it and she made it disappear, possibly mini teleportation to some other area of the mansion. Poor Vlad was truly helpless for the moment.

"Nathan and I think Carolyn has been affected by the fish creature, the ecto-acne may have helped trigger some allergic reaction or something." I said loudly but not too loudly. We didn't need the neighbors to hear us.

"Sugar bear, why don't you come to the study and let papa bear take a look at you?" I heard Vlad ask Carolyn softly.

"You're looking at me right now." Carolyn said and then made a few more clicking sounds.

"But you know what I mean honey. You're not acting like your usual self. Why don't you be a good girl and unlock the deflector belt so we can sit down and talk about what you're feeling sweetums." Vlad tried explaining to her.

"But if I remove the belt you might try to escape from me. This Queen wants to keep her King captured." Carolyn replied.

"Oh boy, she's talking chess moves now. That means she's not going to surrender her power easily. I'm guess capturing the mate is something the fish creatures love to do as a sign of affection. We need to find some way to sedate her." Nathan whispered to me. Then an idea hit me.

"My thought was on some of the left over herbal tea and clam juice mix. If she's thinking like the fish creature, she'll want this. We just to make it a bit stronger with some powerful sleeping agent that is flavorless." I suggested.

"Do it." Nathan said nervously. I hurried over to the cabinet and looked at some ecto sleeping agents that were very powerful tranquilizers. I then grabbed some more tea concoction out of the jar in the fridge and poured some into a cup with some of the tranquilizer. I mixed it quickly and threw it in the microwave for 2 minutes. I took the cup out and let the aroma fill the air. I spotted what looked like a key on the kitchen counter that looked like it went to the belt. My teleporting skills were still sketchy so I subtly grabbed it and tossed it over to Nathan while Carolyn was distracted with the scent of the tea.

"Hmm, something smells really good!" Carolyn said as I saw her carrying Vlad over her shoulder, his bathrobe disheveled and his hair rather messy but otherwise OK as she floated back out in the living room. She carefully set Vlad down and Nathan teleported the spare key to Vlad to unlock the belt while Carolyn was busy sipping the tea.

It sounded so nasty to sip tea mixed with chunky clam juice unless you were a fish creature. I saw Carolyn close her eyes in enjoyment of the taste as she continued to sip the tea until she began to get sleepy.

"Wow, I think I need to sit down and relax" she said as she sat down on the sofa and closed her eyes. A moment later she transformed back into human form as she began to make subtle snoring sounds. Vlad walked up to her and sat beside her.

"I think she just needs to rest and let the toxin leave her system naturally. I do admit though, it was a bit fun in a way. I never saw her act like this before." Vlad admitted with a smirk. I could tell he really enjoyed Carolyn's playful attention but he was embarrassed because we were present.

Vlad swooped her up and gave her a quick peck on the lips despite the nasty taste of the mixture she drank as he transformed into Plasmius and floated carrying her back to the bedroom. This was among the strangest events of the evening yet to have unfolded but it appeared that she was calm and out like a light.

"Well Badger, now that's done let's say we work on getting this second belt operational then get the keyboard unit ready for Lake Eerie?" Nathan suggested. I was relieved and could focus on our work again. Nathan didn't need to tell me twice about him being grateful I was here. I was very glad I was here to help and dreaded to think what might have happened if I hadn't been here. I breathed a sigh of relief as we began testing the second belt for invisibility.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 The Waiting Game

**Klaatu: Again. Thanks for all the awesome reviews. This has been a very difficult work to do as I try to keep everything consistent in the story line. I had a lot of interaction with the male fish creature and the creature's side effects on Carolyn. I didn't know this would take up a whole chapter but these chapters take on a life of their own. I watched a few more Danny Phantom episodes to give me some more inspiration. It has been a wild ride with these fish ghost creatures and things are winding up to some intense climatic conclusions.**

**I thought it was both funny and just deserts for Vlad to be excessively hit upon by his wife. I try to tailor Carolyn's personality and intelligence to be someone where basically Vlad has met his match. **

**I wont give away too much in this chapter but it will be intense and the Time Wrangler will return. As always, review and enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Checkmate or Endgame.

General POV

Carolyn and Danny both had vivid dreams of the alternate previous timeline. They each began to write diaries as the dreams became more intense. It was as if they were living out other lives and Carolyn began to suspect that the Time Wrangler might somehow be a culprit. Danny was able to shrug it off at times but the dreams were exhausting him to the point of needing ecto energy drinks to get him more revived in the morning. Carolyn's dreams were also intense. She kept dreaming she was visiting Vlad at the portal test back at the University of Wisconsin prior to the accident to warn him and prepare him for his changes to the timeline. She kept a diary of the dreams as she wondered if they were 'echoes' of the previous timeline. She refused to dwell too much on the notion as she felt her energies were based used preparing for the successful relocation of the fish ghost creatures which had always been her main goal. She didn't want to use the word 'capture' in her vocabulary. These creatures showed near human sentience and she truly believed that neither one was intentionally 'evil'. Trying to convince Jack and Maddie of this however, would be another matter altogether.

The ghost crew at Wisconsin castle called Vlad and asked about having some of them come over to Amity to help. The mansion wasn't as large as the castle so the crew drew straws and George, Niane and Patty were picked. They were excited to get to visit Vlad's family and Danny but they were surprised that Vlad was so open to it. They anxiously teleported over which was very easy for them since they were full ghost. Vlad more than ever welcomed his extra staff as he worried what would've happened had both Danny and Nathan hadn't been there to help.

Nathan debated with his dad over luring the fish creature at the mansion rather than the lake after more reports of GIW circling the lake. He didn't want to see either of the creatures captured and although there were now working invisibility belts, if the she creature was lured and detected by the GIW, she would be caught. If she was captured the male creature would surely try to rescue her. Now that was going to be trickier than ever as GIW around the lake was showing an increased presence.

"Dad, we need to find a safer place to lure the she creature. There are GIW everywhere and if she gets exposed to the other creature and somehow becomes visible herself, she risks being captured. They need to stay here when we find them and hide till we can get them ready for transport to the sea creature area of the Ghost Zone." Nathan argued.

"Son, I already called City Hall and they insisted they wanted to have a meeting here on Tuesday." Vlad replied feeling disappointed he had no better ideas or was too weary to think of any. Niane overheard the conversation. She wish she could think of an idea to help the situation but she suspected that if anyone was able to come up with a solution, it was Danny. She went to him and hoped.

"Daniel? Nathan is worried about the fish creatures being caught by the GIW at the lake and Vlad doesn't feel it's safe because of the meeting happening Tuesday. If anyone can figure this out, it's you." Niane said to Danny with optimism.

"Well, Vlad is worried as the fish will not stay put. It would be nice if we could suspend space and time like Clockwork...unless..." Danny trailed off as Niane could tell an idea was hitting him.

"Unless what?" Niane asked as she could barely contain her curiosity.

"Unless there was a way to suspend the fish creatures themselves and make them stay invisible. I have an idea..." Danny said as he bolted toward the living room. Niane smiled to herself sensing Danny might have a solution. As he ran up to Vlad and Nathan they both turned and looked surprised at him as he worked to catch his breath.

"Vlad, remember those expanded containment fields that put the ghost mice asleep in one of your tests?" Danny asked. Vlad looked a bit skeptical.

"I don't mean to burst your bubble Daniel, but even if we keep the creatures suspended in a field the risk of someone walking into the study is too great." Vlad replied.

"Not if they are invisible. They would also be intangible so no one would bump into them by accident." Danny replied proudly.

"It seems a bit risky...but it might actually work." Vlad thought about it and decided to go to the cabinet in the study and pull out the blue prints for the stasis field to keep the creatures suspended.

"If the keyboard is inside the field, most likely both fish creatures would go to the containment area and then once inside and exposed to the field, they would go into a state of suspended animation. I could then put an invisibility belt on each of them." Nathan suggested. Vlad showed a look of concern at his idea.

"How will you keep yourself from being affected by the stasis field?" Vlad asked. Nathan paused at the question but Danny was determined to solve this dilemma.

"Nathan can surround himself with a ghost shield that will protect him from the effects of the field." Danny replied. Vlad's face brightened with pride. His little Badger had become quite the problem solver. His time spent with the Masters family allowed his once hidden brilliance to shine forth unimpeded as he no longer had an overworked ghost chasing schedule and ghost hunting parents.

"I'm impressed Daniel, and Nathaniel, having the keyboard inside the containment area to lure the creatures sounds promising. I say we give this a try." Vlad suggested and both Danny and Nathan's faces shown with joy at a solution.

"So now I guess we just leave the keyboard in the study and we keep our spare duplicate selves here to intercept the fish creatures." Nathan concluded. Danny rolled his eyes.

"I really need some training to get better at my duplication. My duplicates are really quite stupid at times. Heck, Sam wiped me out at a game of checkers. She even had to pull the string on my arm to make the moves of the pieces." Danny complained.

"Don't worry Badger. Your duplicate will only have one job so as not to be taxed; to lure the fish creatures and keep them safe till they are sedated by the field." Nathan replied with confidence.

"Well, I guess we best get the stasis field ready and lets make this happen." Danny said as he and Nathan went to the study and began to gather the components for building a stasis chamber. George who had been brewing tea in the kitchen and overheard the conversation came in with a tray, a teapot and a several tea cups.

"It is so good to be in your company again Master Plasmius." George said as Vlad lifted an eyebrow.

"Thank you George. It's truly wonderful to see you and Niane again, but you best call me Mayor Masters. I wouldn't mind Vlad but I know how you have been trained to use proper titles." Vlad said as he sipped on some relaxation ecto tea.

"I must admit your son and master Daniel really make quite an effective team. It's like being back at the castle all over again." George reminisced. He remembered when Danny first arrived there and knew only some ghost defenses but was mostly burned out and haphazard in his approach. To see how much he had developed and excelled since staying with the Masters family was an amazing transformation to witness.

"Just a question sir. I noticed before you seemed reluctant to have any of the ghost staff over for fear of us forgetting and allowing our ghost forms to become manifest to others. Yet now you seemed to have change your mind as of recent. Might I asked what happened to make you more open to us coming here?" George asked. He knew that quite a lot must've happened that Vlad hadn't yet told him about.

"Well, the ecto-acne relapse, and then Carolyn acting like one of the fish creatures happened." Vlad replied with a mild blush.

"The ecto-acne I can understand, but what do you mean about your wife acting like one of the creatures?" George asked. Vlad had silently prayed that George wouldn't have pursued the matter, but Vlad knew the question needed an answer. If Vlad had stated that he preferred not to talk about it, then talking about it would've have been something George, Niane and the Wisconsin castle staff would've done without ceasing. Vlad gulped and decided to continue.

"My wife was exposed we think to a toxin of the fish creature. She became a bit more affectionate than usual and started making fishing sounds. She actually began to chase me, stalk me and trap me with a Specter Deflector. I was rather enamored really, it was like one of our first dates when we use to ride in the limousine..." Vlad stopped talking. He said more than he was willing to talk about but George smiled and was very tactful.

"Even though it was a toxin, it sounds like you and your wife had a rekindling of the romance in a relationship which is very important for the marriage. I recall how madam would love to chase after you. At times she reminded me a lot of you sir." George said with a smirk. Vlad laughed nervously.

"Yes, she and I can be a lot alike at times, but I know without a doubt she truly is my better half. She keeps me on the straight and narrow when at times I tend to stray." Vlad confessed. Niane overheard as she came in to chat.

"How is your wife doing sir?" Niane asked as Vlad rubbed a handkerchief on his forehead, having perspired from slight embarrassment of his earlier confession.

"She is resting quite well at the moment with a very powerful ecto tranquilizer. The rest will allow the toxin to leave her system naturally and she should be fine." Vlad replied. He had thought about it however and enjoyed this more primal wild version of Carolyn. It was a bit flattering to be chased and adored by her even if she seemed a bit out of control.

As they continued to chat, Danny and Nathan were testing the containment field to make sure it would suspend the ghost creatures.

"I know this unit should work based on the specs, but I wish we had some actual ghost creatures to test this on. Do you suppose the vultures that work for Vlad might be willing to be test subjects?" Nathan asked.

"I know if Vlad gives them a special bonus they will probably not mind. Especially if worded in the right way. I suspect by the way they talk at times they feel overworked and like to relax, and what better relaxation therapy than a stasis chamber." Danny replied.

Determined to find the vultures, Danny left Nathan to continue work on the chamber while going to Vlad to ask where the vultures liked to hang out. Vlad hadn't needed them in a long while and suggested Danny look for them in the Ghost Zone. He would've preferred that Danny not go there by himself but Vlad knew that Danny had more than handled himself on many occasions. Vlad knew he himself needed to stay to keep an eye on Carolyn as well as check on Nathan's progress with the stasis chamber.

Danny went into the ghost portal and onward into the Ghost Zone. As he flew upward to hyperspace he saw a strange disturbance around the edges near hyperspace that looked like more tiny ripples appearing similar to the rift that the creature came out of. He tried to focus on them for a moment but they kept mysteriously disappearing and changing places. He squinted his eyes to get a better focus as he continued looking for any sign of the vultures. Danny thought as he searched that if he didn't find them, the alternative would be to locate another ghost that trusted Danny to test the stasis chamber, such as Frostbite or Wuff. As he decided to travel toward the Far Frozen he heard a mysterious laugh that made his skin crawl.

"Well, look who decided to show up and surrender themselves to me." The voice sounded unfamiliar at first then Danny recognized it as he turned around to face the origin of it. It was the Time Wrangler! Danny wouldn't have been so concerned but this time the Time Wrangler was surrounded by dozens of Observants that appeared in a blink of an eye.

"Decide to come around and get beat up again?" Danny said with bravado trying to hide an internal fear he had of the creature. The Wrangler looked at Danny in his smoky form with vengeance in his eyes.

"If you take me to the real criminal, Carolyn Plasmius, then maybe I'll consider letting you go." The Time Wrangler offered as Observants began to surround Danny. Now Danny truly regretted going into the Zone alone.

"Forget it Wrangler. Nothing you can do will persuade me to sell out and give up Ms. Plasmius. It's not even her fault that the timeline was changed, it was by accident!" Danny protested and began to prepare himself for duplication.

"I will find her, make no mistake about that. She along with her half-breed family are an affront to nature as are you." The Time Wrangler snarled as Danny kept a close eye not just on him but on the Observants that were circling around him. As he saw the numbers of the Observants increase from dozens to over 100, he realized that duplicating and fighting would be a vain attempt at this point. As much as he hated it he would need to risk teleportation in the Ghost Zone and hopefully hit hyperspace. But he also needed to get a ghost to test out the chamber and he was determined not to leave empty handed. He would attempt to target the Far Frozen via teleportation.

"Hey look, there's someone uglier than you!" Danny pointed behind the Wrangler. As the Time Wrangler turned around a large net barely missed Danny. One of the Observants had a net just like the kind Skulker used to catch ghosts. Danny felt the wind of the net coming down toward him as he immediately teleported and the entire world faded and then changed into what looked like empty green nothingness. He could hear cries of Observants as they hollered he had escaped but this time it was too close a call to feel very victorious about it.

He looked around trying to get a bearing on where he was. He flipped on a monitor on his wristband to try to get an idea where he was at but there was just nothing. He decided to travel upward and hopefully find hyperspace and begin looking for the Far Frozen from there. It seemed endless and he wondered if he entered an area that expanded for a long distance with just barren nothingness. He never had felt so alone. Then he had an idea; using his ghostly wail as a sonar to try to listen and pick up any images in the distance that were obscured by the green clouds of the Ghost Zone. As he did, he listened and heard some sounds of rock falling in the distance. As he headed further, he saw rocks and then he noticed what looked like mountains. As he flew further he saw various grandfather clocks floating in the area. He suspected he was near the Realm Beyond Time, but as he tried to go farther he spotted an Observant who saw him.

"There he is! After him!" The Observant shouted pointed a finger at Danny as he again had to focus and teleport.

"I can't believe it but it seems every Observant is after me now!" Danny internally thought to himself as he saw the area fade and then tall trees emerge. As he focused he noticed blue sky and the sound of water splashing below. He looked around and realized he was back at Lake Eerie. He was amazed as he had literally teleported out of the Ghost Zone which he thought was impossible. Unfortunately, he still didn't have a test subject for the stasis chamber and worse yet, the Time Wrangler now had gathered an army of Observants to help catch Carolyn. He had to get back to the mansion and warn everyone but his thoughts were interrupted with the sounds of helicopters nearby. He instinctively went invisible and teleported to the mansion. As the mansion living room materialized in his view, he landed on the floor with a thud and transformed into human.

"Vlad! Nathan! I spotted the Time Wrangler in the Ghost Zone. He has an army of Observants, he's trying to catch Carolyn." Danny warned barely able to catch his breath.

"Daniel, calm down and breath." Vlad said as he saw Danny putting his hands on his knees as he bent over gasping. The number of teleportations along with the stress of encountering the Time Wrangler had taken their toll on him.

"If the Wrangler figures out Aunt Carolyn is here...what will we do?" Danny said as he finally was able to breath normally

"We do what we always do Little Badger, we fight. The Time Wrangler is not going to win." Vlad replied with a determined demeanor. Danny looked at him in frustration.

"Didn't you hear me? There is an army of Observants he has with him now. He is more determined than ever to find her. There's only us and..." Danny's voice trailed off as Vlad interrupted.

"Don't you find it odd that a huge army of Observants, Observants who have taken a vow never to interfere with the course of events would suddenly without any explanation join the Time Wrangler?" Vlad asked Danny. Danny thought about it and shook his head.

"Do you mean that what I saw that looked like Observants may not have been Observants at all?" Danny asked as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Very likely they are something else. I am not saying we shouldn't be concerned and we may very well face an army of something out there, but I do not think they are the Observants. Based on how easily you got away from them, I doubt they may even be very sentient." Vlad replied. Danny looked at him with disbelief. He had a very close call and felt Vlad underestimated their ability to do real harm to Carolyn.

"I barely escaped. I had to teleport to get away." Danny reminded Vlad. Vlad sat up straight and looked intently at Danny, as if trying to give him a non verbal hint on an exam.

"Yet you think what ever you saw would've captured you right away rather than just surround you. It sounds more to me like the Time Wrangler was trying to intimidate you into divulging Carolyn's whereabouts. I doubt he has an actual functioning army but may have an ability to put on an convincing show." Vlad explained as Danny plopped down on the sofa in frustration.

"So you're saying that the Time Wrangler might've been doing some kind of illusion ghost power?" Danny asked.

"It sounds like a definite possibility. Vlad admitted as Nathan walked into the living room.

"I overheard some of what Danny said. Dad, do you think that mom is in real danger?" Nathan asked as he walked over sitting down on the sofa. He still never fully recovered from Carolyn being taken by the GIW and he tried to contain the fear in his voice.

"All of us are always in some real danger of being found out and captured. I think however the Time Wrangler is more bark than bite, but we shouldn't underestimate an opponent. From what I have read in the ghost books, there is no direct mention of him anywhere..." Vlad paused as Danny and Nathan sat quietly listening. Vlad liked to be theatrical in his bringing forth new information. The boys could barely contain themselves as he explained further.

"Any theories?" Danny asked unable to wait for Vlad to answer his question.

"Actually Daniel, there have been some rogue spirits mentioned of in the Ghost Zone. These are spirits who were kicked out of a larger body or group and decided to do work on their own. With the Time Wrangler, I focused on any rebel spirits who may have once been associated with Clockwork or the Observants. I found a very interesting read in which one ghost was an apparent apprentice who once belonged to the Observants, but became frustrated in not being allowed to get involved in matters in the ghost or human world. His name was Chronosimer." Vlad began to explain as he opened a book about Spirits of Old in the Ghost Zone.

"His name sounds like Chronos which is a term used to refer to the Father of Time in Greek mythology." Nathan commented.

"Yes, and he was expelled from the order of the Observants eons ago. He is described as having a visage of gray smoke with many jewel like lights dancing about him." Vlad added.

"Except the Time Wrangler looks more like smoke from a bonfire of debris. Dark and ugly." Danny commented pointing the discrepancy in appearance.

"It is possible that Chronosimer, when expelled from the order may have lost his beauty. There are mentions that the Observants took away some of his powers and it altered his appearance though no mention how his visage changed. It is possible though in his shame of being rejected his lost looks were a reflection of his being rejected. Most likely he later changed his name to the Time Wrangler." Vlad explained further as he thumbed through the pages and pictures in the book.

"I'm guessing that the portal accident that may have opened a portal to the Ordovician period may have been an event that Chronosimer saw and objected to." Danny began to surmise.

"Quite possibly Little Badger. The book mentions that Chronosimer was obsessed with perfection in the order of events and despised anything that seemed out of place. It is reasonable to guess that him witnessing the changing of the timeline and wanting to fix it probably was the deciding moment when he openly rebelled." Vlad said as he looked at a few more pictures and explanations about the being.

"And Aunt Carolyn being pulled through into this universe altering the timeline was the final straw. He probably blames Carolyn for his loss of standing with the Observants. No wonder he is so pissed and wants to capture her!" Nathan concluded. It was very unsettling for him to have to face an enemy who so hated a member of his family.

"So we're dealing with a ghost who has a grudge." Danny said.

"Yes Daniel, and the deja Vu doesn't escape me on this. Remember I previously had a major grudge with erroneously believing your father had stolen Maddie from me in the other timeline. I may not have experienced that timeline anymore, but I know how grudges go. Much like the grudge I developed against the drunk that killed my Dad and sister in the car accident when I was young." Vlad recalled and his face saddened at the reminder of his hurting past.

"So how do we fight against a grudging ghost?" Nathan asked.

"Well, the fact that the Observants may be being impersonated could cause the Time Wrangler to be arrested. The Observants are very adamant about non-interference. They do not take well to having their identity stolen and abused." Vlad stated as he set the book back down on the coffee table. Maddie the cat jumped up and started to crawl and cuddle on Vlad's lap, as if sensing the fear and concern in the room.

"So we need to film the Time Wrangler with what looks like Observants and then somehow get an clip of that and dropped off at the Observant's Tower." Danny concluded as he looked at some pictures that Vlad copied on the table showing Chronosimer in his former glory before becoming what all suspected was The Time Wrangler. Carolyn came out slowly walking with a slight stagger.

"The Observants use a computer similar to earth computers but they run on ecto energy. You could burn a CD and drop it off to one of the so they can see what the Wrangler is up to and put a stop to him once and for all." Carolyn said wearily as she was still under the effects of the tranquilizer.

"Honey bun, you need to rest." Vlad urged as he sat up and prepared a pillow area for her to sit down as she walked over and practically fell on the couch.

"I couldn't rest with all the discussion going on especially when I kept hearing my name mentioned." Carolyn said as George on cue flew up with an extra cup of tea steaming and laid it down on an end table next to Carolyn.

"Thanks George." Carolyn smiled as she took a sip and looked at the pictures that were on the coffee table of Chronosimer.

"Certainly madam. I always like to be prepared." George smiled as he went back to the kitchen.

Carolyn smiled and picked up her teacup and walked carefully over to Vlad and sat down beside him. She looked longing at Vlad and began to play with the handkerchief in his pocket. Vlad could tell the effects of the fish creature hadn't fully worn off of her but at least she was calmer.

"Here we go again." Vlad thought internally as Carolyn kept moving her right hand onto his left knee. She wasn't getting too insistent and her affection was controlled for the moment but Vlad was concerned she might relapse and he tried to persuade her to rest some more. She then unexpectedly teleported a sheet and tried to throw it over both of them but Vlad caught a section and twirled it, tucking it next to her. She grinned and her eyes were almost cross. It was all Vlad could do to keep from laughing as she spoke with a slur in her voice.

"I feel a bit chilly. Are you warm enough honey?" Carolyn asked as she bundled up in the sheet.

"I feel fine thank you love." Vlad said with a smirk.

"You've had a lot of work and maybe you should rest for a bit and give your mind a chance to relax." Carolyn pleaded as she took a finger and flirtatiously played with Vlad's lapel of his lounging robe. Danny and Nathan looked at each other and decided to excuse themselves when it suddenly dawned on Danny that one of the ghost crew could test the stasis chamber. Maybe he had avoided the idea as he suspected the ghosts might think the trap was designed for a more animal like creature and might be offended, but there wasn't time to worry about their take on it. Danny needed a subject now.

"Why didn't I think of this before, George could be tested in the stasis chamber, he's a ghost. How did I so totally overlook that?!" Danny exclaimed.

"Don't beat yourself up Badger. You were probably hesitant as this is a trap designed more for an animal like ghost, not one of Vlad's staff." Nathan said as he reluctantly began to head to the kitchen to ask George to be a guinea pig for just a few minutes, hoping George wouldn't be too offended of the request.

"I'm not sure George will be so fond of being a test subject." Vlad said with a smirk.

"He'll do it for family. He knows what's at stake." Nathan insisted as he walked up to ask George to volunteer to test the chamber. He was relieved with what George said before Nathan even had to ask.

"I overhead you Master Nathaniel and I would be more than happy to try out the stasis chamber and see if we can save our fish friends." George spoke out before Nathan had made it fully into the kitchen. Without a moment's hesitation George followed him along with Danny back toward the study to test out the chamber when all at once the keyboard unit suddenly turned on and began playing random notes.

"I think our she creature may be back." Nathan said although puzzled how the creature was able to turn the keyboard on. He guessed perhaps the longer the she creature dwelt in this reality, the more likely the she might adapt to being able to interact with solid objects. All just guesses but he suspected that was the case.

The keyboard hit random keys not making any sense but it kept playing nonetheless. Nathan picked up the keyboard and continued to head back with George to the study. Danny looked at the keyboard as it continued to play random notes not even making a sensible melody and he wondered what to make of it. After while the keyboard was silent again and he stood for a few minutes but nothing happened. He decided to just go to the study and wait as Nathan carried the now silent keyboard. If it was the she ghost creature, there was nothing more that could be done until both creatures were present and could be sedated.

Carolyn looked at the keyboard as well. She seemed particularly interested in it and seemed to act like she could almost see some 'being' invisibly playing with the keys. When it became silent again her attentions turned to Vlad as she began to flirt with him again.

"You know Vlad we're a lot a like." Carolyn smirked at him and he looked a bit curious.

"In what way my dear?" Vlad asked trying to keep his composure as she snuggled up close against him.

"I like to acquire things as well. Right now I am working to acquire a very precious asset for my personal collection." Carolyn went on as she looked at Vlad up and down. He seemed a bit puzzled and wondered if the toxin was just influencing Carolyn again or if she was trying to communicate something indirectly.

"What asset are you speaking of sweetheart?" Vlad asked as Carolyn smiled like the cat that swallowed the canary.

"I have a particular precious item that eludes me. Though in my grasp it slips through my fingers like a fish out of water." She smirked. It was a rather interesting choice of words considering the fish creature probably exposed her to the toxin making her behave weird in the first place.

"Am I aware of this item?" Vlad asked as Carolyn leaned close inches from Vlad's face while picking up his hand and caressing it.

"You might be." Carolyn replied dodging a direct answer.

"I see..." Vlad sighed. He knew Carolyn needed to lie down to help let the remaining toxin process and expel through her body naturally but she wasn't about to do so unless Vlad was close by and he knew that rest was the last thought on Carolyn's mind. She had become intensely romantic since exposure to the fish creature. Even the powerful tranquilizer couldn't sedate her as long as he had hoped. He decided to relent and return to the bedroom and try to massage her back or sing her a song to woo her to sleep.

Meanwhile George was preparing himself to go into the stasis chamber to test its ability to place a ghost in suspended animation. He wasn't very enthusiastic about it but knew it was for a good cause.

"Just step inside the unit and relax, you wont feel a thing." Nathan promised to George as Danny looked at the readouts.

"I trust you implicitly Master Nathan, i-it's just I am a bit claustrophobic." George said reluctantly as he looked at the chamber. It was nothing more than seven cubicle partitions forming a makeshift room with one opening for easy access. There wasn't any ceiling, and wires ran along the sides of each of the panels, but it still felt too constrained for George. He took a breath and slowly walked into the room. He could've floated in there but he was no longer at the Wisconsin castle and had to be on his guard to keep his powers hidden constantly should someone from the city come over.

"Would you like me to play some of your favorite classical music for relaxation?" Nathan offered and George's face brightened up.

"Yes, that would be splendid sir. It would indeed get my mind off of the confinement of the room." George said thankfully as he walked in standing in an upright position and Danny turned on the oscillator and the wires began to hum a low vibration. As Nathan opened the file on his laptop and double clicked, a beautiful melody began to play and echo in the room. Within a few minutes George's eyes began to grow heavy as he kept slowly blinking and began to lean his head forward a bit as he dozed off standing up. As the field to the room intensified it was able to support George's ghostly body which made the need for any restraints unnecessary. After a few minutes they saw George snoring as he was standing up, yet his body fully supported in the standing position.

"Now all we need to do is capture the creatures and have them stored in here temporarily." Danny said.

"We should still test this with George wearing the invisibility belt." Nathan advised and Danny nodded as he grabbed a belt and shut the generator down temporarily. As the unit was shutting down Danny ran into the room and placed the belt around George and turned it on running back out before the field began to affect and make him sleepy as well. He turned the field back up to full power and watched as George began to fade along with the belt until he was fully invisible. There wasn't a move or even a sound from him and it seemed the stasis chamber would be perfect to keep the creatures.

"This looks very good Badger. Turn the chamber off for now and then lets get the belt off George and see about preparing to get the creatures." Nathan instructed Danny who studied the readouts for any anomalies but found none. He turned off the unit and the humming of the wires began to lessen and Danny ran in and felt for George and detached the belt from him and ran back out with the belt in his hand.

"I seriously think if we're going to lure the other she fish creature here we first need to the lure the male creature from the lake when the she creature is watching so she will follow him. We should then teleport them all directly over to the stasis chamber and let it do its magic. Once they're both asleep we can slip the belts on." Danny advised Nathan as George came to.

"Do you want to go get the fish creatures or should I?" Nathan asked as George, now fully awake stepped outside the chamber hurriedly. He didn't want to show he was still afraid from the claustrophobia but it was difficult for him to hide it.

"I'll go get them. I better bring a treat to keep them distracted before making the jump to bring them here." Danny said as he prepared to head for the kitchen to get some more of the special tea mixture the creatures.

"Can I continue with my duties sir?" George asked as before leaving the study, relieved he was no longer standing inside of the chamber.

"Yes George, thanks so much again for volunteering." Nathan replied.

"It's no trouble at all Master Nathaniel." George said as he walked out of the study. Danny meantime opened the refrigerator and found the jar with the tea mixture. There were still about a couple of table spoons in it and hopefully he wouldn't need to go to the Wisconsin castle to make more tea mix. He grabbed the jar and poured some into a teacup and steeped it in the microwave for a couple of minutes. As he removed the mixture from the microwave he heard Maddie meow. She had caught scent of the chunky clam juice and was sitting and begging in the kitchen. Danny quickly grabbed a couple of treats and dropped them on the floor near her to which she gladly gobbled them up as he quickly made his way back to the study with the mixture.

"I recommend that the stasis chamber be set up to receive power from the emergency generator if we have another blackout." Danny suggested as Nathan took the keyboard unit and turned it on, placing it inside the stasis chamber.

"I have the unit hooked in such a way to receive back up power if we have another outage. I'm not worried about the male creature and hopefully the she creature wont be too much of a problem...I hope." Nathan added as he tested the back up power to the chamber and everything was running perfectly.

"OK, I'm going to teleport. I'm thinking I should take the keyboard just in case I don't locate one or both of the creatures right away." Danny advised.

"That's not a bad idea Badger." Nathan agreed as Danny grabbed the keyboard off the worktable. He had the keyboard with a strap attached to it so he could hoist it over his arm as he held the cup with the tea mixture. He took a whiff of the tea and wished he hadn't. It was even more pungent having sat and marinated in the fridge. He stood and closed his eyes focusing on Lake Eerie. The room faded and was then replaced by an open wilderness. He was at the far end of the lake and began to look around for the fish creature. He turned on the keyboard turning up the volume as he played a few letters that sang and appeared on the keyboard screen. He decided to go intangible to be safe as he heard GIW choppers in the distance.

He looked around but there was no sign of either the fish creature. He kept looking and began to worry. Usually one of the creatures would be jumping out of the lake by now especially when smelling the tea mixture, but all was still. Danny set the keyboard and tea down and decided to dive down in the lake. He formed a ghost shield as he dove down and looked under the water but still no sign of any fish creature. Other ghost creatures were seen in the water swimming around but the fish creatures were painfully absent. He checked the ghost monitor on his wristband that was adjusted to their frequency but no sign of them on the radar. Danny flew back out of the lake careful to remain invisible and landed back over where the keyboard was and decided he needed to contact Nathan.

"I can't find them!" Danny said trying to suppress the panic in his voice.

"I'm checking on the monitor right now. It looks they're ecto signature is still there at the lake Badger. They might be suppressing your monitor somehow." Nathan replied and Danny was puzzled. He suspected the creatures might be jamming his local wrist band as a defense mechanism in response to the sounds of the helicopters.

"How well can you narrow down the location?" Danny asked half frustrated and trying to keep his cool.

"The most precise I can get on this GPS is that the creatures are in the upper Northern area near the middle of the area and near the lake shore. You should be able to see them." Nathan insisted but it was no use. Danny couldn't find either fish creature as he frantically began to look under bushes and hidden areas to see if the creatures were lying there but found nothing.

"I'm going to need to get my hands on some goggles that can help me spot invisible ghosts." Danny relented. He knew he would have to go to the Ghost Zone and steal Walker's goggles. It would most likely take a team effort to be the most successful. Danny teleported back with the keyboard and tea. The creatures didn't even seem interested in either and Danny couldn't waste anymore time.

"Nathan, I need you to come with me to the Ghost Zone so as to make a distraction while I steal Walker's goggles." Danny said. Nathan's eyes got big.

"This is Walker we're talking about Badger. He doesn't trick so easily. He most likely will be wearing the goggles so we would have to knock them off him somehow." Nathan cautioned, worried of the success of Danny's plan.

"I know it's risky. Maybe...we could get Walker to knock the goggles off himself." Danny suggested. Nathan looked curious.

"How do you propose to do that?" Nathan asked. This had been one of Danny's most daring if not foolhardy ideas yet but he had to hear him out if there was even a chance it might work.

"If I can lure some ecto bees over to Walker, the bees would swarm him and then he would be so busy fighting them off he might knock the goggles off himself or be so distracted I could grab them off of him." Danny suggested. Nathan cocked his head at the idea.

"How do you plan to lure the ecto bees to Walker?" Nathan asked as Danny rubbed his chin still hammering out the plan in his mind.

"Toss ecto honey on Walker. I understand the ecto bees are attracted to it. I could use a Fenton Foamer filled with the honey that would shoot globs of the stuff. The Fenton Foamer is more powerful than a regular air gun." Danny explained. The foamer had to be powerful as the foaming agent was very thick and viscous, needing a powerful push to thrust it in a stream at a target.

"OK, I guess we better get this done. I'll let dad know we're going to the Ghost Zone." Nathan said as he got up and walked toward the living room. He kept thinking though the plan in his mind to make sure there was nothing that Danny or him had overlooked. As he walked toward the master bedroom he tapped lightly on the door.

"Dad, we need to go to the Ghost Zone and plan to steal goggles from Walker so we can locate the fish creatures. The signal still has them at the lake but both are completely invisible." Nathan explained. There was silence for a moment.

"I don't feel particularly assured just sending you and Daniel to the Ghost Zone. The Time Wrangler is getting more aggressive in his strategy and I don't want you to get captured. How exactly do you plan to steal the goggles from Walker?" Vlad asked. It was the response that Nathan had feared. He knew how extra cautious his dad was after Vlad had to rescue Carolyn and the fish creature from Walker's Jail.

"Danny suggested filling a Fenton Foamer with ecto honey and squirting it on Walker to attract ecto bees. As Walker fights off the ecto bees he might knock off his goggles, or make it so that he would be so distracted so one of us could steal them off of him." Nathan explained. Vlad groaned in thought as he mulled over the plan. Nathan feared his father might not go along with the plan with the amount of time it was taking to get a response. He gulped nervously tapping his foot while waiting. Soon Danny came up along side of Nathan and decided to pitch in.

"Nathan is an excellent sharp shooter, and I'm really good at snatching things fast from a ghost." Danny added as Vlad listened. The door slowly opened and Vlad stepped out.

"Nathaniel, Daniel...I know that you are both brilliant and at times more like twin brothers in so many ways, if anyone could outwit Walker it would be you too. I don't however say this lightly when I came so close to losing Carolyn when she was captured and was in Walker's jail. Since I cannot go with you at this time, I insist you take with you one of the ghost crew so you are not alone. Niane has fought single handedly when my castle was invaded by dark forces back in the day. Ask her if she will come, and then you have my blessing." Vlad said with strong reservations. He knew the risks dealing with Walker. Unlike many other ghosts, Walker was a ghost who had an army of officers to captures 'criminals'. Danny and Nathan needed Niane to make this a success.

"OK, we'll go and ask Niane to come. And we will succeed and come back with the goggles." Danny replied defiantly. Vlad smiled seeing how Danny and Nathan had grown in bravery and determination. Danny especially had a greater hurdle as he never grew up with ghost powers, but was willing to take the risks along with Nathan. Vlad couldn't have been prouder of them both.

Danny and Nathan walked over to where Niane was cleaning a hallway. She overheard the request and had already prepared to go with them, but under the condition they had a solid plan. She was an unusually powerful ghost but also a master strategist. When she played chess, she was the only one that was an incredible challenge for Vlad. Sometimes she even beat him, much like Vlad's sister Annie did when she was alive. What Vlad didn't realize was Niane was Annie but in another form and not like the other ghosts, being different and more powerful in many ways. She sensed deep down Vlad knew who she really was but wasn't ready to face the truth fully yet.

"I know what you are coming to ask of me." Niane said as she turned and looked at them as they stood silently. They forgot that Niane had even more powerful hearing than normal ghosts. She smirked as she dusted off a lamp as they stood speechless before her.

"So you'll come and help us get Walker's goggles?" Nathan asked as Danny gulped, being a bit nervous at Niane's demeanor.

"I will help you, but you must have a solid strategy to minimize any risk of being captured by Walker or his crew." Niane said as she put her hands on her hips, ready to listen to their plan.

"I suggested going invisible and sneaking up on Walker to blast him with honey so some ecto bees that are near that area would attack him and make a distraction. Walker may drop the goggles or be too busy fighting the swarm to keep one of us from grabbing them." Danny said confidently.

"Well, the first problem is your invisibility. Walker may have the goggles on and spot you a mile away." Niane explained.

"We would expect he might, but not all his goons have these goggles. We could fly up in hyperspace where no one can see us and then dive down when he isn't looking." Nathan explained hoping to convince Niane of the soundness of the plan.

"That would work until he turned around and might spot you. What you need is a guaranteed distraction that would prevent him from looking in your direction. This is where I could come in. I can create energy balls at a distance. A red ball of energy could build up near his car and then explode. As he reorients himself you can then assess if the goggles are still on him and if so, implement the ecto bee strategy." Niane explained. She did had an exceptional advantage by being able to create explosive balls of energy.

"Can you create more than one ball of red energy?" Danny asked.

"It is doable. I would be careful though as too many could risk destroying the goggles by accident." Niane cautioned.

"Then let's do this." Nathan urged as the three of them began to head toward the portal. Along the way Nathan grabbed some regular honey out of the cupboard and zapped it lightly to fuse it with ecto energy to make it appealing to the ghost bees. He then grabbed a Fenton Foamer out of the closet on the way to the study dumping the foaming agent in a bucket and unscrewing a cap over the barrel which he then emptied the jar of honey into it and then tightly secured the cap.

As they transformed Danny noticed Niane also transform into an outfit that looked like that of a female knight with a woven chainmail head covering. All she lacked was a sword and shield. There was a lot about Niane that Danny and Nathan both didn't yet realize.

As they approached the study and walked up to the portal there was an odd smell on it, like that of a fish. Danny looked at Nathan as Niane turned the portal on and waited for it to warm up.

"That fish smell...you don't suppose that the fish creature may have been by it?" Danny asked Nathan and Nathan shrugged.

"I never notice a smell emitted by the fish creatures at all. Maybe they are becoming more integrated in this reality so now we can smell them as well as see one of them." Nathan replied.

"Well there not here now and probably just hiding very well at the lake. Let's go get those goggles." Niane advised as the portal began to hum and the inter-dimensional green fog formed inside of it in a swirling motion.

All three of them turned invisible and flew into the portal and immediately shot up to hyperspace. For a moment Danny thought a ghost was near him as cool mist came out of his mouth. He looked around but saw nothing by him so he began looking around the activity happening in the Ghost Zone. As he flew he saw what looked like Observants all around the Ghost Zone. Danny suspected that they might not actually be Observants at all but knew he needed to stay clear of them and remain invisible. As they approached the area of hyperspace there were also more rifts that were forming around the edge of hyperspace where the Ghost Zone ends and hyperspace begins.

"There are a lot more rifts popping up. I wonder what it means?" Danny whispered to Nathan as they flew through the dark blueish sky which now had a few dark clouds in the horizon and an occasional spark of lightening.

"Did you see that Badger? Those look like storm clouds. I didn't know hyperspace could have storms but I guess it can." Nathan looked with wonder as he looked around and then was shaken as a loud clap of thunder followed the lightening.

"There more we learn about this place, the less we know." Danny concluded as they continued to fly across. More lightening shot from cloud to cloud and the trio was careful to keep a safe distance, adjusting their flight more diagonally to avoid getting too close to the storm.

As they flew over they saw Walker down below in the Ghost Zone, his figure distorted by the ripple of the ghost dimension but it was definitely him. He had his goggles draped around his neck but wasn't wearing them at the moment. Danny looked around to see if there were any swarms of ecto bees out. He saw a small swarm and with Niane's added help, that would be more than enough to accomplish the task.

Nathan charged up a Fenton Foamer and was preparing to aim as the trio dropped out of hyperspace when near Walker's jail. As they descended into the Ghost Zone they spotted a nearby floating window and Niane immediately saw an advantage.

"Quickly, let's hide behind the window in case Walker puts his goggles back on." Niane whispered as the trio then headed to the window.

"I know the window is transparent but hopefully the glass may interfere with the his goggles if they are based on a type of ecto heat signature, but that is just a guess I am making as none of us knows for sure." Niane cautioned as they moved behind the hovering window and studied Walker as he was talking to one of his officers.

"The ecto bees are near. I'm going to start with a couple timed energy orb explosions. Upon the second explosion Nathaniel will fire the honey at Walker and Daniel, you will grab the goggles off of Walker when the bees swarm unless the goggles have already been dropped. In that case, just grab them and remain invisible." Niane instructed.

Nathaniel tightened his grip on Fenton Foamer and began taking aim at Walker. He sensed Niane charging up the energy balls as his ghost core could feel them from a distance. Niane's energy blasts were very powerful but Nathan knew from past experience that only half-ghosts could sense them while they were charging.

"Cover your eyes." Niane whispered and the trio placed hands over their eyes as only a few seconds later a blinding explosion flashed just a few feet in front of Walker, lighting up the Ghost Zone. Walker stumbled over covering his eyes in pain as a second explosion hit just a few feet behind him. After the second flash Nathan flew in to within 10 yards and shot a stream of honey at Walker, aiming for his face to cover him with the goo.

"You aren't getting away with this whoever you are punk!" Walker screamed as he tried to wipe the gooey honey off his face as ecto bees began to swarm near him. Danny already had a shield up to protect him from the bees as he dove in and grabbed the now dangling goggles and yanked them off Walker's head. Walker blindly reached for Danny but Danny was too quick as he flew with the goggles and shot up toward hyperspace, not looking back. Observants began also heading to the area of the commotion and Niane knew they needed to get out of there in ASAP.

"Hurry up!" She hollered as she sensed both Danny and Nathan were still a ways behind her. She was much faster than even Vlad and in some ways more powerful.

The trio shot up back into hyperspace and temporarily became visible as they were safely hid from prying eyes below when suddenly a bolt of lightening came very near where the trio was. Danny was especially startled.

"Man that was too close!" He shouted as a clap of deafening thunder exploded causing him to almost drop the goggles.

As they flew back into hyperspace, it felt colder than usual and no one knew why. It almost started to feel freezing as they continued back toward the portal.

"Something's not right." Niane said as they saw the portal off in the distance. The ripples of the Ghost Zone seemed more agitated than usual and then something very strange was spotted below. A small flurry of what looked like snowflakes began blowing in the Ghost Zone. The Ghost Zone appeared to be having a type of weather event.

"So even the Ghost Zone can have its own weather?" Danny exclaimed as the flurries became more intense.

"This is news to me Badger." Nathan said as they all looked with amazement as larger flurries of snow began to hurl across the regions of the Zone. Then as they saw the portal coming up, there was an unusual sight; a small snow tornado was outside the portal and even from a distance all of them could feel the ice cold wind blasting towards them. This was no small whirlwind but was what would be rated in weather a small tornado with a wind blast that felt upwards of 75 miles per hour.

"I don't think we'll be able to use the portal back to Amity." Niane said trying to hide the strain of concern in her voice.

"OK, let's look for the portal that leads to Lake Eerie. At least that won't be very far and we can maybe spot the fish creature or creatures." Nathan suggested.

"I think it's over towards the Realm Beyond Time, that's where I last spotted it." Danny added and the trio struggled against the pull of the wind as they headed in the opposite direction. Below them they could see what looked like every type of ghost struggling and being blown around from the tornado. It was truly a strange sight. The wind that once thrust upon them had weakened the further they flew from the cyclone. The ripples of the Ghost Zone now looked almost like huge waves of water on a stormy ocean. It was an uncanny sight to look at as they continued to fly to where the naturally occurring portal that lead to Lake Eerie was fast approaching.

They all saw the portal appear and saw the shimmer of water from the lake as they flew at an intense speed toward it. As they turned invisible and entered through it was late as Danny glanced at his watch which read half past 11. The sudden calm was unusual compared to the stormy event they had to face earlier as they flew over the lake. Danny saw the male ghost creature in the water swimming in circles around something but he couldn't make out what it was.

"What if we only spot one of them?" Danny asked everyone.

"We may have to just take one of the creatures and hope the other will follow. Hopefully we can get them both." Nathan said.

"We really need to get both creatures if at all possible." Niane cautioned. She had worked with animal like ghost creatures and knew how unpredictable even the most well behaved ones could be.

As they scouted around the lake with Danny wearing the goggles he spotted what looked like the male fish creature shooting up out of the lake. Nathan struggled to activate the keyboard but the creature suddenly disappeared. Danny looked on his wristband and noticed it was working again as he saw a blip on the screen of the other creature. Before he could react the she creature then flew up and opened a portal. For a moment Niane saw the mansion flickering through the portal before the creature flew through.

"They're heading back to the mansion!" Niane hollered.

"Let's teleport now!" Nathan said half out of breath.

"Not so fast Nathan. Let's go to a hidden area at the city park and transform so we are walking up to the mansion like ordinary people. You never know when Vlad may have visitors" Niane suggested. She was thorough even under pressure and while it would have been quicker to teleport directly into the mansion, no one questioned her suggestion. Niane was always a careful strategist.

All three of them held hands as they closed eyes and teleported to a secluded region just at the outer edge near some trees of the front gate entrance. As they saw the mansion appear in view Niane's face paled but neither Danny nor Nathan could understand why. She motioned them to stay hidden.

"Something isn't right, I can sense it." Niane said. Danny and Nathan had both learned to trust Niane's judgment. If she sensed something was amiss, it was very wise to listen to her and follow her lead.

"What's the matter?" Nathan and Danny asked at the same time.

"I sense a malevolent presence in the mansion." Niane continued.

"Then we need to go fight it! My mom and dad are in there!" Nathan protested.

"We will fight it, but we need to keep our element of surprise. We also need to know what exactly we are fighting. I have sensed this presence a few times before in years past. You two should stay out of sight and let me go and scout to see what we are up against." Niane cautioned and Nathan was extremely distraught.

"I don't want them to hurt my family!" Nathan spat in a loud whisper.

"Stay cool N-man. Niane will know what we have to do to fight whatever is going on in there." Danny said trying to calm Nathan down, but he too was very upset. Danny knew this and was equally upset though able to better keep his emotions in check. They may not have been blood family, but they were a family to him as well. Vlad and Carolyn were like a half-ghost Uncle and Aunt that he had grown very close to. Carolyn looked and in all ways was identical to his mom only from another reality and in love with Vlad. He had to struggle with his own emotions as Nathan bit his lip. Then Danny remembered about the cool mist coming out of his mouth.

"When we first entered the Ghost Zone, I had mist come out of my mouth and looked around for a ghost but nothing was there." Danny confessed.

"I had a mist as well, but I just thought it was some ghost nearby but out of sight in the Ghost Zone. I should've paid more attention to it." Nathan lamented as they both stood just next to a tall cypress tree across the street from the mansion, straining to listen to what was going on. It was only a few seconds since Niane entered the mansion but it seemed like an eternity as they waited, until Niane ran back out towards them.

"Everyone's been hurt at the mansion, and Carolyn...is gone!" Niane said tearfully as the boys ran as fast as they could without going ghost in front of anyone that might be watching.

"How bad is it?!" Danny gasped as Nathan ran ahead of them toward the front door.

"Fortunately the injuries were minor, but an ecto sleeping gas was tossed inside the mansion and everyone fell down almost immediately. I see a faint outline of the female fish creature but not the male. She is unconscious so I can get her to the stasis chamber. All the injuries appear to be from everyone falling down." Niane replied as Nathan shot through the front door almost tripping.

"Who did this!?" Nathan cried as he ran toward the bedroom where his parents were, except as he ran through the open bedroom door his mom was missing and his dad was on the floor with his mouth drooling. He ran up to him and gave him a mild ecto zap to wake him up. As Vlad began to stir Nathan was fighting back tears. He was raised like Vlad, that Masters don't cry...at least in front of others, but today was the exception as he came to and looked for Carolyn but didn't see her.

"It was the Time Wrangler! That no-good zapped your mom and the next moment I woke up on the floor. He must've used some sleeping agent on us!" Vlad said with tears streaming down his face. He was especially worried as Carolyn was still not fully recovered from the fish toxin and barely recovering from the ecto-acne.

"We'll get her back dad!" Nathan vowed as he hug his dad, tears also streaming down his face. Danny was trying to hide panic in his voice as he questioned the ghost crew. Niane meanwhile carefully lifted the ghost fish creature and flew over to the stasis chamber in the study. Carefully she laid the she creature on part of a sofa inside the chamber and turned on the field so she would remain asleep. Upon careful inspection the creature showed no visible injuries so she left the being there and returned to help everyone else. Danny and Nathan took turns asking questions to find out as much as they could.

"Did he say where he was taking her?" Danny asked as George rubbed his forehead where he hit the counter as he fell over in the kitchen.

"He didn't say. Carolyn has a ghost signature but there is some additional good news in this horrific event, Carolyn was wearing her wristband which can act as a tracking device. She disguised it to look like nothing more than a Rolex watch. Hopefully we can track her." George said.

Danny and Nathan wasted no time as they ran to the tracking monitor and looked. Carolyn's signature was beeping but it was over Lake Eerie.

"Why would the Time Wrangler take her there? He isn't even after the ghost creatures." Nathan wondered.

"Who cares, we need to save Carolyn." Danny said as Vlad staggered drowsily into the living room.

"Before you go charging off to rescue her, let's weigh our options. I know it's instinct to want to go and teleport to Lake Eerie and find your mom, and I assume that the Time Wrangler is expecting you to do that and will undoubtedly have a trap set up for anyone that tries to interfere with whatever he has planned. I suggest Nathan wear the goggles and see what all is hidden at the Lake. Also remember that GIW are crawling around that area." Niane cautioned.

"We should all teleport just to the area across from the lake and scout out what is there." Vlad said weakly trying to contain his emotion.

As they all continued to talk, no one noticed a mist forming in the living room and within a few minutes, there was an odd sound of clicking and then, as they turned they all saw appearing out of the mist the male fish creature carrying Carolyn in his arms. She was still asleep from the gas and as the creature laid Carolyn down on the couch, he fell to the floor. There was a gash on the left side of his forehead as he groaned in short squeaks of pain.

"Mom! And the male fish creature!" Nathan shouted as he ran toward his mom and hugged her. She was still out but other than that seemed fine.

"Vlad, the male fish creature...he must've rescued Carolyn and he's badly hurt!" Danny said as he picked up the fish creature in his arms and transformed back into ghost to fly toward the study. He heard the creature as it barely opened his red eyes.

"Carolyn...safe?" The creature asked.

"Carolyn's safe." Danny replied as he landed in the study and took out some ecto emergency first aid supplies.

Niane ran toward an office desk at the far end of the living room and pressed a button under the drawer. Immediately a humming sound following a thin white film of a ghost shield was now in place over the mansion. Although under constant threat, because of the power drain and risk of questions being asked it wasn't to be used except for extreme emergencies.

"Carolyn will need to stay inside. She's at too much risk of being captured by the Time Wrangler. I know you are tired and I'm sorry to ask this, but did the Time Wrangler see her transform?" Niane asked Vlad and the staff.

"No, she was already transformed into Carolyn Plasmius. As far as the Wrangler knows, she is just one of the many ghosts that comes to visit me." Vlad answered assuredly but still held deep concern that the Time Wrangler even found her here.

"Until we can capture the Time Wrangler, Carolyn is not to transform into Plasmius under any circumstances." Niane strongly cautioned. Carolyn began to wake up and looked around puzzled.

"What am I doing on the couch?" She asked looking a bit dazed.

"The Time Wrangler kidnapped you when he saw you as Carolyn Plasmius. You must avoid transforming into your alter ego until he is captured and no longer a threat." Niane explained to Carolyn as she groggily rubbed her eyes trying to fully wake up.

"The male fish creature came and rescued you but Danny is treating him right now as he is badly hurt." Nathan said. Carolyn's face saddened and worry was in her eyes.

"Oh no." She said tearfully as her voice began to tremble with fear. She was worried for the male fish creature which looked so much like an eerie fish version of Vlad. This creature had now risked his life to save her.

"Where is the creature?" Carolyn asked.

"Danny has him in the study..." Niane replied and Carolyn jumped up from the couch almost stumbling as she ran toward the study and came up to the creature, laying on top of pillows on the floor, gauze with ecto ointment was wrapped around the top area of his head. He was outside the stasis field as Danny needed the creature to stay conscious till all the first aid had been applied. The creature looked up and gave a fanged grin to Carolyn as she leaned down toward him, nearly inches from his face.

"Hello Carolyn..." The creature said as he reached his with fingers sticking out of his fin toward Carolyn's face and lightly touched it. She placed her hand on his fin and held it as tears began to stream down her face.

"You're going to be alright." Carolyn said as she gently stroked the fish creature's face. Vlad walked up to Carolyn and Danny was worried that Vlad, being jealous might not appreciate the fish creatures showing affection to Carolyn, but Vlad trusted Carolyn and knew she was only concerned with the creature's well being.

"Your mate is here." Carolyn offered to help keep the creature encouraged. The creature looked back at her and Danny was to become really concerned at what the creature said next.

"Be my mate?" The fish creature smiled. Vlad exhaled, clearly annoyed that the creature now was showing feelings for Carolyn. At first he had hoped that the creature just saw her as safety and a reminder of the mate that was still missing. But if this creature was like dolphins, it was not unusual for him then to have more than one mate.

"Well, we humans are married to one mate dear boy, so she is out of your league I am afraid." Vlad responded. The creature displayed a disappointing groan as Vlad placed his arm around Carolyn to let the creature know he was the mate that was married to Carolyn.

"I am married to Vladimir honey, but I am terribly flattered." Carolyn smiled at the creature as his breathing calmed some.

"Vlad...lucky." The fish creature said and then closed his eyes to rest as Danny lifted him onto the couch and placed him gently next the she creature.

"He really is a lot like you. Always hitting on women that are spoken for." Danny teased as kept applying pressure to the now covered head wound to make sure the creature would be OK.

"That was in another timeline, I haven't hit on Maddie once since she married we got married." Vlad protested.

"There was that one time you got drunk and thought Maddie was me and you really threw the charm at her I'm told." Carolyn said with a smirk.

"That was an honest mistake, and I have since given up drinking moderately alcoholic beverages." Vlad replied with a blush. Nathan came in and looked at the creature along with the rest of the ghost staff.

"He'll probably heal faster now that he is in the stasis chamber. It will allow him to relax and also keep him from wandering off." Nathan suggested.

"I suppose some extra pillows wouldn't hurt. The comfier they are, the better the stasis field will help them sleep. Also we better get the belts on them just to be safe." Danny responded as he grabbed the pillows left on the floor and moved them into the stasis chamber that was at the far end of the study. Nathan then carefully wrapped and clicking the invisibility belts around both creatures and watched them start to fade.

"Here guy, just rest here a while." Danny said as the faint outline of the fish creature was still visible. He looked over at Carolyn with longing red eyes.

"And he's still trying to hit on her anyway. Well, hopefully he will be calmer now that he is reunited with his fish mate. " Vlad said as the creature had a soft grin on his face, and began to slowly close his eyes as he faded into total invisibility.

"This has truly been one weird day." Nathan shook his head.

"And now the Time Wrangler is loose and according to the monitor is still at Lake Eerie. It sounds like he's planning something there." Niane reminded everyone, the concern heavily present in her voice.

When I was last at the lake I felt hundreds of invisible beings hiding in the campsite." Carolyn said. Her eyes off in a daze, visibly tired. Danny looked at the monitor and saw something as well as hundreds of energy spikes showed up and then began to disappear. He was puzzled at this and an idea came to his mind; to use the goggles to see what exactly the ghosts there were up to.

"Nathan, you and I need to travel in stealth mode back to Lake Eerie at a distance and use the goggles to see what the ghosts there are up to and we need to do it soon. These ghost readouts keep shrinking and something isn't adding up." Danny was aware the images on the monitor were disappearing at an alarming rate.

"And so we head back. Mom, are you and dad going to be OK?" Nathan sighed getting weary of having to go back to the lake.

"Son, Niane is here. She is like an army. Do not worry about us." Vlad replied to Nathan to assure him.

As Nathan and Danny teleported back and remained invisible a short distance from the Lake Eerie campsite, Danny brought out the goggles and carefully placed them over his face. As he looked toward the lake he saw an unusual sight as numerous ghosts were heading straight up to the sky until all that could be seen was a milky cloud of them going what looked like to be heading into space. He quickly took the goggles off and handed them to Nathan.

"They look to be headed into space but no idea why." Danny commented as he handed the goggles to Nathan. Nathan put on the goggles and saw the sight.

"I have no idea why they are doing what they're doing. I could go to the swarm and see where they are headed but even being invisible, I might still be detected if one of the ghosts has the ghost detection abilities.

"I have an idea, wait here." Danny said as he momentarily disappeared teleporting to his bedroom at Fentonworks. He had a high powered telescope there, which he held onto when teleporting back.

"Badger, that's a great idea!" Nathan exclaimed as Danny took a special lens wipe, dusting it off and the surrounding region.

"You can see the rings of Saturn with this." Danny bragged proudly as Nathan peeked into the eye piece to see where the ghosts were headed. As they each took turns looking Danny recognized the region of space where the ghosts had moved to. He looked at the constellations nearby to be sure and looked to his phone. The ghosts were arriving at the asteroid belt. His face paled at the realization and Nathan looked at him puzzled.

"What's wrong Badger?" Nathan asked as Danny pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

"The ghosts are staying in the area of the asteroid belt. The only reason I suspect they would go there is to try to disrupt an asteroid and hurl it to Earth. But there's one problem...the area of the belt they are at is full of ectoranium." Danny concluded solemnly.

"What is ectoranium?" Nathan asked.

"In a clip I viewed of the other timeline, Vlad mined ectoranium when we got into a fight and Vlad lost his temper accidentally destroying his mining satellite. The resulting explosion pushed a huge ectoranium asteroid off it's course and towards the earth. It was nicknamed the Disastroid. The tricky thing about this type of asteroid is that ghosts can't touch it." Danny recalled.

"OK, well then if the ghosts are trying to hurl it to earth, they picked a poor choice of space rock seeing as they can't interact with it." Nathan commented.

"Except that just because they can't touch it doesn't mean they can't affect the asteroid. I saw another clip where Vlad tried to touch such a space rock and sparks flew out of it. This repulsive energy could be enough to push the asteroid out of its current orbit if enough ghosts were near the asteroid or worse yet, they could hurl an ordinary asteroid into the ectoranium asteroid and send it on a collision course to earth." Danny explained with a look that showed a battle worn fighter who had reached the end of his rope. He knew that the way he saved the planet before by having ghosts work to help make it intangible wouldn't work this time due to the constant power failures. The ghost energy needed the normal carrier wave of electrical current from the cable to transfer the ecto energy across the globe.

"Wait, I recall a clip where I saw you getting ghosts together and turning the earth intangible." Nathan said as he remembered a space clip where the earth turned invisible.

"Except like I said before, now the constant power failures put that plan at risk...the cables need to keep the regular charge to transmit the ghost energy around the planet." Danny explained, visibly discouraged that he had to come up with a new idea and for the moment was stumped.

"Let's go back and tell this to my folks. My mom might have an idea as I remember she told me she studied about scenarios of earth getting hit from space but didn't go into much detail on solutions." Nathan said. It was the only course of action as they both concentrated and teleported back to the mansion.

As they returned Danny got a space alert on his cell phone. It confirmed his worse fears as he looked at the text alert.

"Strange disturbance in asteroid belt has scientists on edge as a huge piece of space rock the size of Texas has dislodged from its normal orbit and is heading in Earth's direction. Scientists are currently unsure how close the rock will get to Earth and whether it may hit or come close to the planet. The problem has to do with the unusual properties and behavior of the asteroid." The text read and Danny felt his blood run cold. Despite a new timeline, certain events were still playing out only with different causes. Danny looked alarmed as he read it and immediately told Nathan.

"We this confirms it. According to this text alert I just received, it states a huge chunk of space rock the size of Texas may be heading to the Earth, but no one knows for sure yet." Danny said as he looked glumly at Nathan. Nathan's eyes became wide as he reflected on something he remembered. Nathan walked up to his mom.

"Mom, did you hear about the asteroid?" Nathan asked as he approached the study where Carolyn was checking on the fish creature.

"I'm aware of it. I get space alerts as well. I spoke about it at great length with you dad a long time ago when I saw that alternate timeline. The good news is we can stop it much more safely than any nukes. The bad news is that NASA says they wont have time to get anything ready before it arrives near or collides with the earth so it's up to us." Carolyn stated.

"But it's made of ectoranium and as half ghosts we can't touch it." Nathan reminded her.

"It's true we can't touch it, but the repulsive force created by it resisting our touch will also push on the asteroid. If we fire our ghost energy at it, it will create a repulsive force that can steer and nudge the asteroid out of harms way. Assuming of course we calculate the proper trajectory and get to the asteroid in time." Carolyn said.

"But we can't teleport that far, it would kill us!" Nathan added now visibly frustrated.

"But my folks can help, they have the Fenton Jumper. Dad discovered a portal in the Ghost Zone that leads directly into an area of space not far from the asteroid belt. We could use it to intercept the rock before it even gets near the earth." Danny explained.

"That's awesome Badger!" Nathan exclaimed but was puzzled as he noticed Danny's expression looked solemn.

"But there's one BIG problem. We would have to use our ghost powers and then my folks would know about all of us." Danny said. He hated bringing this up. He wished that his family could just accept that not all ghosts are evil. It was a terrible dilemma with even more difficult choices.

"We'll figure something out. Let Vlad and I do the talking." Carolyn said trying to allay Danny's fears. She realized he had the most to lose since he was the only half-ghost in his ghost hunting family. Vlad walked in and saw everyone's concerned looks.

"What's up family?" He asked as he could feel the tension in the air. He didn't yet know about the asteroid threat.

"Baby, we need to talk alone. Nathan, you and Danny work on the trajectory calculations of the asteroid. I know NASA has some good scientists working on this, but I want a second opinion on this."Carolyn requested. They both nodded and went to rec room and Nathan pulled a laptop out and began to log in to a volunteer site online for space alerts and gathered all the data he could on the asteroid. Meanwhile Carolyn and Vlad closed the door to the study.

"We need to take a space trip honey. There's an asteroid that may be heading to earth and we're the only ones who can stop it, but we'll need Jack's help and you know what that'll mean...he'll know we're half-ghosts." Carolyn didn't mince words. There wasn't time for that anymore. Vlad looked at Carolyn and sighed. He knew this day would come. Their secret couldn't remain hid forever from his ghost hunting friends.

"If we go to Jack, we go together and talk. I was...still am trying to be Jack's best friend. I hope he will trust me when he finds out I am the Wisconsin Ghost." Vlad knew it would be harder for him because of his previous misbehavior as the Wisconsin Ghost and how he wrecked a speech that Jack had given years earlier over a ghost tech award that Vlad believed he should've deserved instead. It was childish but that is the price one pays when being irresponsible with unimaginable powers. Sometimes pride and self-justification get in the way of reason and stupidity results.

I'll call Jack tonight and have us meet in person tomorrow while the kids are in school." Carolyn added.

"This may be a terrible idea." Vlad sighed.

"What choices do we have? The future of the earth hangs in the balance." Carolyn stated to Vlad solemnly. Vlad was afraid not only of what his friends, particularly his best friend would do, he was also afraid for Carolyn. She was jailed once under suspicion of being a ghost by the GIW. Seeing her along with his whole family and Danny facing that prospect again was a fear that haunted Vlad as he went to sleep that night. He silently prayed that tomorrow would be met with voices of reason. He would learn just how much of a best friend Jack truly was and if Jack as well as Maddie could get past their prejudice of ghosts.


	18. Chapter 18

-Chapter 18 Facing an Uncertain Future-

**Klaatu: **

**This story has truly taken on a lot more than I imagined. I have tried really hard to parallel events in the new timeline to cannon which isn't an easy task. I wanted the Disasteroid event to occur but asked myself how to make that happen differently. In Phantom Planet you may recall that Vlad when trying to touch the disasteroid had sparks fly out of his hands from it. It's reasonable to conclude that nukes might instead create a firestorm of smaller meteorites to shower down and destroy much of the earth. Another solution is possible but I leave you to discover that in the story.**

**Now Vlad and Carolyn face their biggest challenge yet as they try to convince Jack and Maddie to help them when they reveal they are half-ghosts. Carolyn as you no doubt have noticed is the main negotiator in the family. It is her greatest strength so she will be trying to persuade with the best diplomatic skills she has as she will face perhaps her most trying moment yet. There are going to be some tearjerker moments. This is near the finale of the story so it will be emotionally intense.**

**As always I so appreciate and welcome all your reviews. And now, back to the story.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Checkmate or Endgame

General POV

After Nathan and Danny were off at school, Vlad and Carolyn mentally prepared themselves for all the possible outcomes upon revealing their true identities to the Fentons. If the outcome was less than favorable they would have to consider fleeing Amity and going into hiding as Carolyn would try to overshadow and influence those in power to grant those with ghost powers the same rights afforded to everyone else. They were both sure that the Fentons wouldn't tell the GIW their secret but as to how the couple themselves would react to the revelation of their ghost halves was a very stressful concern for both of them. Worse yet, they would have to reveal Danny's powers as everyone along with Danny was needed to make the mission a success.

Carolyn internally struggled about revealing Danny's powers however. He had specifically made Vlad and Carolyn promise not to reveal his ghost power unless an absolute emergency. Danny had given permission for such an emergency if it was truly a life or death event. Carolyn was convinced this killer asteroid qualified under that category. She regretted not having spoken to Danny about it before making the decision. Truthfully she wasn't even sure that Danny's powers would be necessary as well as she for a time was convinced just the Masters family could steer the asteroid. But not knowing if that would be enough, she began to rethink it would be better for Jack and Maddie to know their son was also half-ghost than to find out in a high pressure situation.

As they walked up to the Fentonworks home Carolyn felt a cold sweat in her hands. Vlad looked a bit pale as he was also very nervous. He mentally prepared all the possible counters to their possible negative reactions to learning of their ghostly nature. He did have a bit more confidence in one argument he had held onto steadfastly. That neither Vlad nor Carolyn should be blamed for their half-ghost condition as it was Jack's fault. If he truly rejected them, he was being a hypocrite for having caused their condition in the first place. It would make more sense to offer to fix the condition, but Vlad and Carolyn did not want their condition fixed. They had grown used to and even at times depended on the powers. Prejudice wouldn't deny their right to live full happy lives with the added bonus of such powers.

Carolyn knocked on the door and Jack immediately had opened it. She looked around to spot Maddie but didn't see her.

"Hey Jack, where's Maddie?" Carolyn asked.

Hey V-man and V-woman. Maddie had to go to the store to get some last minute shopping done. She should be back in a bit." Jack replied. Good Carolyn thought. She felt that it would be better to try to convince them individually as it would be less likely for one of them to talk the other one out of a decision of acceptance of Vlad and Carolyn as half-ghosts.

"Jack, we have something to tell you." Vlad said matter of factly. He was a poker face and had learned to suppress his fear and nervousness in games of chess and strategy in life as well.

"You mentioned about some all important message over the phone last night but I don't see why you had to tell me in person." Jack replied puzzled over the mystery and suspense of what was to be revealed. Vlad sighed. Carolyn glanced at Vlad and Vlad could tell her facial expression was to let her start doing the talking. He nodded and she began what she had been preparing to do all night...revelation and persuasion.

"Jack, when you married Maddie you promised to love her no matter what right?" Carolyn asked eying Jack's expression, studying his reactions to what she was saying.

"Of course I did. Why? Is something wrong with Mads?" Jack asked now with a deepened tone of concern in his voice.

"No Jack, but I have a scenario for you. What would you do if Maddie got ghost powers as the result of a lab accident. She isn't a ghost, but just has some ghost powers that could technically give her a title of being a half-ghost. But she's still fully human, simply with these powers. Would you still love her like you do now?" Carolyn asked biting her lip. She was more nervous than she realized as Jack's eyebrows raised up at the question, his facial expression had become unreadable.

"Of course I'd still love her. She's my Mads. I'd also try to cure her of course." Jack replied. Carolyn continued with hardly a pause.

"What if she didn't want to be cured? What if she saw having those powers an advantage to fighting ghosts? Would you trust her enough to support her decision and the newly gained powers she possessed?" Carolyn looked hard at Jack's expression. He was looking more puzzled than anything else and Carolyn was unsure what to make of it.

"I guess I would accept her decision. But it would be so weird. It's not natural for any human to have such powers." Jack strained in his answer. Carolyn zeroed in on her biggest concern in the way she worded the next question.

"Would you be afraid of Maddie if she had those powers?" Carolyn asked, her eyes squinting with concentration, her heart pounding in her chest.

"I suppose I wouldn't have any reason to fear her. She's my wife. Having those powers doesn't change that." Jack replied but there was some uncertainty that Carolyn and Vlad both sensed in the tone of Jack's demeanor. Vlad wanted to speak but held off a bit longer as Carolyn continued.

"Even though she had powers you didn't, you trusted her enough because you know Maddie. You love her." Carolyn took a deep breath to gather her nerve up and continue. The reveal was now or never. But Vlad leaned toward her and gently touched her shoulder. It was his turn to bear the brunt of what they were about to disclose.

"Jack...years ago when the proto portal affected me and Carolyn, we weren't just recipients of ecto-acne. We also received ghost super powers. The blast infused ectoplasm into our DNA allowing us to do things that normally only ghosts could do. Turning invisible, shooting energy out of our hands, walking through walls and teleporting just to name a few. We are still fully human Jack, we have just been given super human ghost powers. In that way we are technically half-ghosts." Vlad said and took a deep breath. He spoke with such emotion he forgot to breath and had to pause to inhale air into his pain stricken lungs.

Jack was speechless. Neither Vlad nor Carolyn could read Jack's internal reaction to the news. It appeared to overwhelm him with numerous conflicting emotions. Vlad and Carolyn had become part of something that both Jack and Maddie hated, but it didn't change who they were. Carolyn decided to step up to the plate and continue.

"You're a fan of the comic Spiderman. Well, Peter Parker got his powers from a spider's bite that mutated his DNA to give him spider powers. That didn't change who Peter Parker was. He made a choice to use his powers for good. The spider powers were neither good nor evil, Peter Parker's decision to use them for good made him a hero in the eyes of others." Carolyn knew that Jack Fenton was a die hard Spiderman comic fan. He loved watching shows and reading lots of stories about him in the fictional world. Carolyn prayed that his love of Spiderman was enough to accept them with their mutant powers as well.

"Please don't stop being our friends because of the accident. The accident you caused is what changed us. I stopped being bitter about it along time ago because without the accident I would've never gotten these amazing powers despite the pain of the ecto-acne. I wasn't even in the hospital as long this time. And most importantly, my timeline was changed radically by the accident in that Carolyn came through the portal that fateful day. I would soon find she was the true love of my life more than any feelings I had for Madeline. She was, looked like and is Maddie from another reality. Without the accident, I would've never found love." Vlad spoke more passionately about this than he had spoken in a long time. Jack looked at Vlad and then Carolyn. His eyes saddened.

"I-I don't know what to say. I'm sorry." Jack responded as he looked at them both. He was sorry that he had ever given them the painful rash. He was sorry he had turned their DNA in part to that of a ghost.

"Don't be sorry Jack. I have experienced more as a super mutant half-ghost than any normal person ever could. Nathan our son loves his powers. He was born with them and they are as natural to him as walking is to us." Vlad said to shake the despair off of Jack's face. Jack was still somewhat halted in his speech. He looked primarily at Vlad and asked him a question.

"There may be a way to remove the ghost powers." Jack suggested. Vlad looked at Jack in disbelief.

"We like being the way we are. Nothing is wrong with us. We've been given a gift, true it comes with a painful facial rash at times but the powers and what we can do far outweighs that." Vlad said. He felt he had Jack in agreement with him but worried about revealing his actual alter ego. As Vlad Plasmius, he didn't exactly behave himself and often times used his ghost persona to mess with Jack. Vlad recalls ho he resented Jack getting an award that he thought should've been rightfully his and so he toppled over tables and wrought general havoc as Vlad Plasmius. Carolyn on the other hand, had done much good and also had to fight against her husband at times until she could calm his temper.

"Can I see what you look like in your ghost form?" Jack asked. They both gulped and looked at each other over the request.

"OK Jack, we'll show you..." Vlad trailed off as he concentrated to feel his ghost core energy and summoned a band of energy to wash across his body and transform him as an energy band transformed Carolyn. Vlad noticed the energy no longer looked like a black band but had streaks of white in it. Over the years he was slowly overcoming his narcissism and the white streaks in the rings showed he was gaining empathy. Carolyn's band was entirely white, but she knew that didn't mean she was perfect. The lighter or darker ring colors along with transforming powers were something that only true half-ghosts possessed and didn't apply to regular ghosts, at least as far as they knew.

As Jack saw Vlad and Carolyn Plasmius his jaw dropped. He secretly admired Carolyn Plasmius as her facial features and attitude reminded him a lot of his wife. Now he understood why. He also looked a bit more agitated at viewing Vlad now as Plasmius who had been a villain at times despite now having a love in his life.

"You're Mr. and Mrs. Wisconsin Ghost!" I don't have anything against Carolyn but Vladdy, why did you mess up my Ghost Award Ceremony?" Jack asked sharply as Vlad now as Plasmius cast his red glowing eyes down in shame.

"I thought you stole the idea from me regarding one of the inventions. Carolyn later showed me it was a misunderstanding and that you never stole anything. That you just thought of a similar idea for the Fenton Ghost Catcher just a bit earlier than I myself." Vlad confessed. Jack was still looking at him sternly but as he glanced back at Carolyn and looked upon her pleading face, his own feelings began to soften.

"I'm sorry Jack that I ruined your celebration." Vlad confessed. Before Jack could respond Carolyn interjected.

"I realize my husband as Vlad Plasmius has caused a lot of trouble. I think the power may have messed with him. Not everyone can handle having such powers. Speaking of which, I need to talk to you about your son, Danny Fenton." Carolyn said somberly.

"Why? What's wrong with Danny?" Jack asked now nervous with concern. Carolyn took a deep breath and continued.

When Danny walked into the ghost portal he decided to hit the on switch inside of the portal. As a result, Danny also gained ghost powers. He's also Danny Phantom." Jack's eyes grew wider at the revelation. This was his own son they were talking about. He shook his head in disbelief as he thought about it.

"My son is also a half-ghost! How he must have feared us for being ghost hunters. He was afraid of a side to him he thought that neither Maddie nor I could've accepted." Jack looked off toward a window, distant in thought. All this was a lot to process with the Masters family and now his own son also.

"Jack...?" Vlad trailed as Jack turned back from the window and looked at them with stoic and somewhat saddened eyes. He felt he let down not only his two best friends but his own son, altered by an invention of his own making.

"You must think I'm a terrible parent and an awful friend!" Jack said with regret.

"It was an accident. You thought the portal was disabled and couldn't function. And you were convinced the portal experiment was safe back at the college. But none of us are perfect and things do go wrong." Carolyn defended. She knew that Jack was impulsive in continuing the experiment when Maddie said the calculations weren't correct. But Jack never guessed the portal would explode and harm anyone. Jack gulped as he continued.

"I want both of you to know that you will always be my friends, nothing will ever change that. Carolyn, I know you will be with Vlad to keep him in line. Eventually I will learn to trust him as the Wisconsin Ghost providing he behaves himself and act a lot less villainous. On that note I still want to apologize from the bottom of my heart. I am still so very sorry for all the pain I caused you. I should've been more careful. I haven't been a very good best friend." Jack confessed as he buried his face in his hands. He had really felt bad for everything. Carolyn placed her hand on Jack's shoulder.

"It's really alright Jack. Besides, you said that "Chicks dig guys that can fly." Carolyn said with a smirk. Carolyn always was one who saw the glass half full rather than half empty. It had helped her in overcoming a lot of trauma in her life as well.

"It's alright Jack." Vlad said as he realized for the first time how deeply the portal accident had affected him. At first he thought Jack had shrugged it off only to realized the terrible guilt he had carried all this time for an event he didn't intentionally cause. Jack really cared a lot about Vlad and Carolyn. Vlad was touched at what he saw next. Tears were streaming down Jack as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"It's OK." Carolyn reached over and gave Jack a big hug. She realized he was the one who had been the most traumatized about everything. Then in all the emotional disclosure she realized she still had yet to reveal the plans for rescuing the earth from potential asteroid collision.

"Jack, there's something else we have to tell you. That asteroid may be making a direct impact into our planet unless we can stop it. It showed up too late for NASA to really do anything about it though they're not telling the world that. But we can do something, all four of us who have ghost powers along with you. We can save our world." Carolyn said as she heard a car pull up in the driveway. She guessed that Maddie had returned from shopping.

As Maddie walked up to the driveway and opening the door to the front living room she could feel the unusual emotional vibe in the air. She walked in to see Vlad, Carolyn and Jack all looking deep in thought. She sensed the tenseness in the room.

"What's the matter? Is everyone alright?" Maddie asked wondering what everyone had been talking about that had them so pensive.

"Should I tell her or would you rather tell her?" Jack offered to Vlad and Carolyn.

"Go ahead Jack, tell her the truth." Vlad said as Carolyn began to reach and hold Vlad's hand as they both braced for Maddie's reaction.

"Mads, the portal accident that affected Vlad and Carolyn did more than give them ecto-acne, it transformed their DNA so they have ghost powers, but they are still fully human. Also, Carolyn apparently came to our universe through that portal. She's you from another reality I guess." Jack explained. He felt this was a better way of explaining it than calling them half-ghosts. Maddie stared at Jack in disbelief and then looked at her two friends. She sat down slowly, trying to process what had just been told her. No one could tell if she was more stunned about the revelation of half-ghosts or that Carolyn came through the portal from another universe.

"W-what?" Maddie replied still in a state of shock.

"That's not all. The portal accident that our son Danny had, it gave him ghost powers as well, but he's still fully human." Jack added. Now Maddie's face had become even more pale. She put the pieces together. This Danny Phantom looked an awful lot like her son. She wondered why she had overlooked this before.

"So then my son, Danny Fenton is also Danny Phantom?" She asked weakly, filled with conflicting emotions. Her husband nodded. Maddie began to burst into tears. The thing that she hated, ghosts, were now a part of her family. But this was her son who had ghost powers, not a ghost that was trying to haunt Amity. It was still hard to process. She felt she let down her own family by having the portal unlocked and her son becoming infected with ghost powers.

"Baby, say something." Jack pleaded as he put an arm on Maddie to try to comfort her. She didn't even care that Carolyn was from another reality. She was more concerned about what the portal had done to her son. She thought about all the times that she had spoken to her son about hunting ghosts. Now she felt guilty in that Danny must've been terrified and obviously kept his ghost powers a secret. And now to learn her two best friends had also been transformed by accident into having ghost powers only ate at her guilt.

"So then is my son as well as our friends doomed to be like this?" Maddie asked still racked with remorse. Carolyn decided to say something.

"Maddie, I saw a clip in the alternate timeline. Danny found a way to remove his ghost powers. The truth is, Danny as well as us prefers to keep the powers. We realized all the good we could do them, especially with this asteroid heading for Earth. This asteroid is a killer. Our powers gives us a fighting chance." Carolyn said. She looked at Maddie as tears kept streaming down her face. She couldn't tell how Maddie was feeling but knew that she needed time to accept and understand what Carolyn had said.

Maddie looked at Vlad and Carolyn and then asked an unexpected question.

"Your son, Nathan...did he inherit your ghost powers?" She asked.

"Yes..." Carolyn answered trailing off. Vlad looked at Maddie and saw the internal struggle that prevailed within her.

"Madeline, I haven't always been the perfect gentleman even in this new timeline." Vlad confessed and Maddie looked puzzled.

"What do you mean by 'this timeline?'" Maddie asked and Vlad rubbed his forehead.

"We really glossed over the theories but didn't explain much about the previous timeline because of the way I acted in it. There was an original earlier timeline in which I spent years in the hospital and thought Jack stole you from me by causing the lab accident. Somehow, years later Carolyn's universe repeated this same lab experiment and the two time periods create a wormhole between our universes. This brought Carolyn through and then the timeline changed." Vlad tried to explain as simply as he could.

"Vlad I know all about alternate timeline theory. I studied it in school along with the more traditional physics courses. I just don't understand why a previous timeline would even have ever existed if it had been changed. Temporal paradoxes of this kind always were troubling to me." Maddie confessed. She understood a lot of time theory but at times had difficulty in accepting it.

"Maddie, there are things about quantum theory and time paradox that scientists may never fully understand. For reasons I cannot fully fathom, my phone as clips of a previous reality. It did exist and then it was changed. It is something that you can think about over and over again and it'll still blow your mind." Carolyn struggled to make the idea plain. She could soon feel a headache was coming on.

"Now, even with a new timeline I still didn't always behave myself. For instance, I harassed your husband over a stupid award ceremony. I also kept trying to hit on you in my human form till I fell for Carolyn." Vlad explained and Maddie's eyes widened.

"Wait, the awards ceremony...you mean you're the Wisconsin Ghost?" Maddie's jaw dropped at the revelation.

"Yes, that was me. Carolyn is also Mrs. Wisconsin Ghost. She also secretly cleaned up the mess that I had made that day out of selfishness. She truly is my better half." Vlad confessed. Madeline eyed Vlad and could see the resemblance of him to Vlad Plasmius but had ignored it until now. She recalled how the chairs and tables the Plasmius ghost knocked over mysteriously were picked up and put back in their places. Now she knew who the Wisconsin Ghost was. But despite Vlad's villainous side, she also recalled the good he accomplished despite himself when she remembered him and his wife rescuing a runaway train from falling into Lake Eerie when a bridge went out. Carolyn had tried her best to help Vlad look past his selfish narcissism and use his powers for good even if it made him feel uncomfortable. Vlad had good still buried beneath his at times beneath his ghostly greenish blue exterior.

Maddie took a deep breath as she closed her eyes to think through what she would say. There was silence in the room as everyone waited for her response.

"Vlad, Carolyn, you are my friends and you always will be. I forgive Vlad but I still don't excuse his bad behavior, but you Carolyn made things right. I also know that what happened to both of you with the lab accident was my husband's fault." Maddie paused and then continued saying the most important words that they needed to hear.

"Your secret is safe with me." Maddie responded. She knew the world wasn't ready to accept half-ghosts or rather humans with ghost powers. People tend to fear those who have more power and powers that were not fully understood. She use to be one of those people which is why she hated ghosts. But today knowing what she knew now, she was learning to ascend past her prejudice and see everything from a bigger picture. It would still take time to adjust to this new reality, but Maddie was always one that was up to a challenge which is why she became such a brilliant scientist.

"Thank you both." Carolyn replied as she and Vlad breathed a sigh of relief. It was a release for such a terrible burden; to hide such a secret about their alter egos. The disclosure was risky but there was no more time for secrets between them.

"Back to the matter at hand. The asteroid is just 4 days from entering Earth's orbit. The properties of this asteroid is believed to be similar to the Specter Deflector. What this means is we can't touch the asteroid, but the repulsion force that the asteroid exerts on us works both ways. We can still use our ghost powers via ecto blasts to repel the space rock away from hitting the Earth and steer it into the sun." Vlad explained. He knew Maddie understood about the power of repelling a force with an equal force of energy. The same resistance or push that kept Vlad from touching the asteroid in the other timeline could be used to push the asteroid away from Earth's trajectory.

"But how are we to get that far into space without NASA's help?" Maddie asked.

"A while back Carolyn and I discovered a entrance in the Ghost Zone that shortcuts into the area of space near the asteroid. It's a small wormhole that leads straight to the asteroid belt. We believe that ghosts have been using this shortcut to meddle with the asteroid belt by purposely knocking this Disasteroid out of the belt and towards the Earth according to what Daniel and Nathaniel have told us." Vlad explained. Both Maddie and Jack were surprised. They had no idea that such an natural portal existed in the Ghost Zone. This would save precious time and hopefully the asteroid would not be too far out of range.

"We better get busy and get everything ready to head into the Fenton Jumper ASAP!" Maddie added. She looked at the clock which read 11:30 am. She heard Danny and Nathan already at the door as they came home early. Even if it wasn't a minimum school day they were leaving regardless. Earth needed saving and Carolyn had sent the text that the plan was a 'go.'

Jazz arrived home from school nearly at the same time. She looked panicked as she ran in and was practically out of breath.

"Everyone, turn on the news." She said as she grabbed her stomach, hurt from running so fast. Danny and Nathan quickly followed shortly after Jazz and looked equally concerned.

"Dad, you need to turn on to the Amity News Channel." Danny said solemnly as Nathan looked at his mom with concern.

Jack turned on the television and the following message had been replayed from an earlier announcement.

"A mysterious message was received from CETI today. The source is not traceable but some scientists still think it is a hoax. The message said the following: "Surrender Carolyn Plasmius or Earth shall suffer a collision by a rock from the heavens!"

"One scientist dismissed the warning as a hoax in that it's origin was untraceable but other scientists are taking the threat very seriously." Harriet Chin reported.

"It must be the Time Wrangler." Danny guessed. It makes sense with all the ghosts heading to the asteroid belt. George sensed the stress in the family and approached Danny.

Everyone paused as they watched the news. The ghost crew at Vlad's mansion in Amity also learned of the news as did the other crew in Wisconsin. George at the Mayor's mansion decided to call Carolyn. As she picked up her phone George asked to be put on speaker.

"Carolyn, Master Daniel and family, do not lost heart over this. We have weathered many a storm, we will overcome this storm as well." George said trying to encourage the family especially Carolyn who was very distraught by the message. Carolyn walked away from the television wishing to be alone as she thought about the message. George offered to come over but Carolyn declined as there wasn't much time as they needed to get into space and stop the asteroid. He wished all of them luck and Danny was deep in thought as he turned to Nathan.

"I really care a lot about Aunt Carolyn. In lots of ways she reminds me of my mom. She even looks and sounds just like her." Danny said quietly to Nathan as he packed some items for taking with him to the Fenton Jumper. Then he thought to himself how he worried about how his mom and dad will react when he has to tell them he is a half-ghost. Neither he nor Nathan realized that their secret had already been revealed. Vlad thought they should know and now was no better time.

"Daniel, Nathaniel...Jack and Maddie know about yours and our ghost powers. We had to tell them. Our powers are the only thing that can stop this asteroid right now. They are OK about it. I thought you should know." Vlad confessed.

"You told them already?" Danny said somewhat offended even though he knew they would have to find out as Jack would be going up into space in the Fenton Jumper.

"Dad?" Nathan asked feeling awkward now that the Fentons knew his secret as well.

"Relax you two, we know you aren't ghosts. You just got ghost powers from lab accidents or inheriting them in your case Nathan. Don't worry, your secret is safe with us. I mean that." Maddie insisted. She seemed rather light hearted and both the boys were in shock. She had hated ghosts most of all but again Carolyn was an expert at negotiating and interpersonal communications. Even Carolyn was taken aback by Maddie's reaction but she was grateful that Danny wouldn't have to have the burden of keeping his secret from his parents any longer. No child should have to feel that burden.

"Well, is everyone ready to go into space?" Jack asked trying to lighten the mood further.

"I'm going to go to the lab and check the systems on the shuttle one more time." Maddie offered as she excused herself. Danny was still feeling a bit odd about his family knowing both he and the Masters family had ghost powers. Jazz saw her brother's facial expression and could tell he still felt uneasy.

"Danny, what's the matter?" Jazz asked.

"They- they know that I'm a half-ghost." Danny said in disbelief as he listened to himself say it.

"Danny, you don't have to freak out about it. You heard yourself, Mom and Dad are OK with it. You've been so worried about it that now even though the truth has been revealed, you still have all of that worry that built up inside. Just be glad that you don't have to keep it a secret anymore." Jazz said trying to comfort her brother. She knew that it was very traumatizing for Danny to have to keep such a secret from his family and it would take time to heal from the stresses of carrying that secret for so long.

Danny and Nathaniel joined Maddie down at the lab and began to load items onto the Fenton Jumper. Vlad was busy doing some calculations in the living room to determine how much ghost energy would be needed to repel the asteroid into Jupiter and ran through the computer simulations. Jack walked up to Carolyn in private.

"Hey Carolyn, I'm sorry for all the times I hunted you and your husband." Jack confessed. Carolyn laughed.

"It's OK Jack, I know sometimes my husband didn't always act right. He thought you stole some of his ideas and so he made a lot of trouble for your from time to time. I ended up having to fight with him on more than one occasion." Carolyn said.

"But I still captured you. It must've been so uncomfortable inside the Fenton Thermos." Jack said feeling embarrassed about it.

"But I convinced you even as a ghost to let us go. I recall giving you a long speech about the opportunity to see how negotiations could be used to get ghosts to behave, that capturing isn't always needed. Of course, when you put me in that spectral cage for observation I offered you some of my homemade fudge." Carolyn reminisced.

"Yes, when I used a special food analyzer and saw it was safe I realized a ghost that was willing to cook me a batch of fudge can't be all bad. Of course before you cooked that batch of fudge I remember you stole a bag a fudge from me years back." Jack recalled.

"That was at Maddie's request, you were gaining too much weight. Although we didn't yet see exactly eye to eye she eventually called a temporary truce with me and asked me to make sure you stayed on your diet. It was still tricky as I knew she didn't fully trust me at the time seeing as she knew me only as a ghost in her eyes. Anyway, I'm glad you both know the truth now." Carolyn replied.

"Yeah, hey maybe I can try getting some of these ghost powers to fight bad ghosts." Jack asked.

"With this power takes a lot of responsibility. At times Vlad and I have considered Danny's option to remove our powers. But it has become such an important part of our lives we just chose to adapt to it and are now glad to have these abilities. At one time Vlad thought the powers ruined his life, then as he married me and learned what he could do, he realized it only helped to define and even enhance his life. I also reminded him what you told him." Carolyn smirked. Jack looked puzzled.

"What was that?" Jack asked.

"That chicks dig guys that can fly." She chuckled and Jack smiled as they headed to the lab.

-At the Lab-

Maddie and Jazz hugged everyone as Danny, Nathan, Vlad and Carolyn loaded into the Fenton Jumper. This was a very risky mission in which she was particularly worried about Jack as he didn't have any ghost powers. If something happened to the Jumper he might be in real danger. Carolyn however assured Maddie that she and her husband could put a shield around Jack until they could teleport to the natural portal in space that would safely bring Jack back to the Ghost Zone and to his home through the Fenton Portal in an emergency. Still Maddie was worried and hugged Jack extra hard.

"You be careful out there Jack. You don't have any ghost powers to protect you so don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Promise me." Maddie begged.

"I promise I'll be careful out there Sweetcakes." Jack replied as he put on his space suit and entered into the Jumper. Danny carried two packs of diet orange soda along with other space gear items. Nathan looked oddly at him.

"Hey Badger, we're just fighting some ghosts not having an all nighter movie marathon. What's with the soda? He asked looking puzzled at him.

"Call it a hunch. If the Fenton Foamer clogs up, I found nothing works like diet soda to clear it up. It also can be used as an alternative explosive thrust for the Foamer." Danny explained.

"Seriously?" Nathan asked him again as he wasn't entirely convinced.

"OK, I know it sounds a bit goofy but I watched some MacGyver episodes and you never know how useful simple household items can be." Danny defended.

"Whatever Badger." Nathan shook his head. Sometimes Danny was as puzzling as his father but Nathan knew not to question Danny. Besides, the crew might get thirsty after capturing the ghosts though Nathan preferred ice tea to soda.

Vlad and Carolyn studied the Jumper systems one more time to make sure nothing was overlooked. Along with double checking the systems Carolyn made sure everyone had a space suit. It was a safe precaution even though the Masters family and Danny had ghost powers. They didn't want to risk draining their powers trying to survive in space without protective suits, so they made sure to have them on. Carolyn felt a bit bulky in hers as it seemed a bit larger than the others.

"Jack, are you sure that this is my suit and not yours?" Carolyn asked.

"Yeah, this one fits me fine." Jack replied.

"It's just your claustrophobia dear. Try not to think about it. Just pretend your one of the Mascots at a Packer's game." Vlad teased and Carolyn shot him a glare.

"Don't make me give you tuna loaf for dinner when we get home." Carolyn then teased back. She knew Vlad hated the tuna loaf casserole so it had become a dinner threat that would make Vlad cringe at the thought of her cooking it.

"Stay focused everyone. We're beginning the jump. Is everyone strapped down?" Jack asked.

"All good." Vlad said as he looked at everyone.

The Jumper lifted up on and hovered with its ion thrusters underneath. The shuttle shook a bit as it hadn't been used in a while. As the portal to the Ghost Dimension opened up, everyone looked at the swirling mass of green in front of them as the Jumper began to move forward through the portal and into the Ghost Zone.

"Go straight up as fast as you can so we don't get spotted by Walker or some unfriendly ghost." Carolyn cautioned to Jack as the Jumper began to ascend at an almost 90 degree angle. The edge of hyperspace was rippling not far from the shuttle as Danny and Nathan looked around to make sure that no ghosts had yet spotted them. If a troublesome ghost did spot them they would immediately make the shuttle intangible till it reached hyperspace. The only two ghosts they spotted were Ember and Skulker off in the distance. They were still playing with the keyboard and were too distracted to notice the shuttle in the distance.

As they reached hyperspace Nathan pulled out a photocopy of the Infini-map of the Ghost Zone. He looked at the portal which was in the middle of the ghost zone that lead into the asteroid belt.

"Mr. Fenton, I punched the coordinates of the portal we're headed for into the computer. It will navigate you if you veer off track. Just keep straight ahead at the angle you're at and you'll soon see a big green orb that is the entrance into space from the Ghost Zone. It will be below you so as you spot it in the distance, start beginning your descent as you fly towards it. Don't enter the Ghost Zone until the last 100 feet or so to avoid being spotted." Nathan explained.

"On it son." Jack replied. He thought of Nathan like a son as much as Vlad thought of Danny as a son. Nathan looked practically identical to Danny except he had more of his dad's chin. It was so uncanny how similar they looked but it wasn't surprising as Maddie and Carolyn were practically clones of each other.

From a distance the portal that lead into space was spotted and the shuttle began to shake again. There were ripples in the green swirling clouds around them and the Jumper began to shudder more intensely.

Dad, what's happening?" Danny asked. He felt nervous that the shuttle might start to get damage from all the shaking.

"It looks like we might be getting some unknown turbulence in the Ghost Zone. I'll make sure that the shields on the shuttle are strengthened." Jack replied.

As they flew closer to the portal images began to appear that looked like green wisps flying into the entrance. On closer inspection everyone saw it was the ghosts that were apparently working with the Time Wrangler and were using the natural portal that led to the asteroid belt. They would suddenly appear as they came out of one portal that flickered an image of Lake Eerie. The ghosts then jumped to the second portal leading out of the Ghost Zone and into the asteroid belt. There were so many ghosts flying in and out of the portal into space that it was creating a wake like a ripple in a lake.

"So that's how they got past the GIW and shortcut into space so quickly. Using two portal entrances, one from the lake and the second that is in the Ghost Zone." Danny guessed. Carolyn was more concerned about being spotted and had to speak up.

"We need to make the jumper intangible so we aren't seen by the ghosts." Carolyn said and immediately Danny and Nathan sprang into action as they placed their hands on the floor. Soon the shuttle became invisible as it steered toward the portal and exited hyperspace. The shuttle began to shake more violently as they headed toward the entrance to the portal and Carolyn placed her hands on the shuttle creating an extra shield to help minimized the turbulence.

The shuttle flew through the green swirling elliptical orb in front of them undetected as the green swirling mass was replaced with stars. The jumper had arrived in space near the asteroid belt. The shaking had then finally stopped and Jack slowed the shuttle down to a slow impulse to look and see what the ghosts were up to.

"They're doing the same thing we were planning to do. They are shooting at the ectoranium asteroid since they can't touch it. It also looks like they are using shooting smaller asteroids and aiming them to slam into that really big one that looks the size of yikes! Mount Everest!" Jack exclaimed as he saw the ghosts working as a unit shooting their powers at the space rocks.

"Dad, you know it's going to be hard to coral all these ghosts to keep them from shooting at any more asteroids. How do you think we can do that?" Danny asked. He had thought about this before but had hoped that his dad would have a plan as he wasn't sure if the whole arsenal of Fenton ghost catching equipment would be enough to capture this many ghosts.

"Well son, to be honest I'm making this up as I go." Jack confessed. Danny looked pale with shock. But before he could respond Carolyn spoke up.

"I have a plan that will work. We give the ghosts what they want." Carolyn said. Everyone had a fairly good idea what that meant but none were very happy about it. Carolyn was going to offer herself to the Time Wrangler to stop the Disasteroid attack by surrendering herself to him in exchange for leaving Earth alone.

"Mom no!" Nathan protested. He didn't want to lose his mom. He almost thought he lost her when the GIW took her away under suspicion of being a ghost.

"Don't worry son. Listen to my plan first. I send a duplicate of myself to the Time Wrangler. He won't know the difference and just think it is me. Then as he tries to capture me I'll start to flee from him and lure him into one of the rifts that look like the rift the fish creatures went through. If my theory is correct this may still be a portal into the past. As he and the ghosts pursue and go through this rift, once all of the ghosts are through it Jack can fire a beam that will disrupt the rift and might seal it up." Carolyn explained.

"There's one problem with that." Danny said. Carolyn raised an eyebrow.

"What is it Danny?" She asked.

"What's to stop them from waiting for centuries till the present to simply go through the portal once they are back to this current time?" Danny asked.

"Oh oh, that's a good point Danny." Carolyn replied now realizing that they might be willing to wait and since they are already ghosts they wouldn't just die off.

"I have another idea. How about we create a blast of energy that causes the ghosts and the Time Wrangler to become permanently out of phase with our universe. Think about it, If we use the frequency of the fish creature we might be able to shoot energy that messes with their ecto energy and causes them to become out of phase just as the blast from the keyboard overloading caused the male fish creature to become in phase with our reality." Danny suggested.

"But will we have enough energy to expose them enough so they will change to become out of phase?" Nathan asked.

"The Fenton Foamers!" Danny then blurted out. Everyone looked puzzled.

"Badger, we only have a few foamers. What is that with so many ghosts?" Nathan asked.

"Remember the prank your dad played on Jack when he thought Jack stole an idea from him. It was at a convention on different innovations and well your dad mixed diet soda with the foaming agent. When Jack tested a Fenton Foamer he shook it while the contents were under pressure. You know what happens when you shake a soda can before opening it. Well when he released the trigger he ended up plastering the place along with most of the audience." Danny explained with a smirk. Although it wasn't one of Vlad's proudest moments it was rather comical to recall.

"I still don't see how the foamers will affect the ghosts. The foamers are a ghost suppressant that neutralizes the ghosts temporarily until they can be captured." Nathan argued.

"I've studied the foaming agent used on ghosts and I discovered that the agent that neutralizes ecto energy by absorbing it can also absorb ecto energy that is one a different frequency. If we plaster the ghosts with a sudden explosive gunk of foaming agent and then aim an ecto frequency at them the sticky gunk will absorb the ecto energy and begin to affect the ghosts. All we need is to reverse the polarity on the Fenton Thermos so it fires out instead of inward. Then alter the ecto frequency to that of the fish creatures and we can turn the entire bunch of them permanently intangible." Danny further explained.

Everyone looked in amazement at Danny's suggestion. This could work. Nathan and Danny had studied the frequencies of the ghost creatures. Vlad gave a fanged grin. He was particularly proud of his little Badger. He realized that Danny was a lot smarter than even his now A plus grades would suggest.

"That's brilliant Daniel!" Vlad declared as Nathan began grab a handful of Fenton Foamers, Fenton Thermoses and one of the six pack of diet soda.

"Additionally I can form a shield around the ghosts that should concentrate the foaming agent after it's been exposed with the ecto energy frequency. That concentration should affect the ghosts more quickly." After the foamer is on them Vlad can also shoot at the ghosts to weaken them with his fire ghost core energy while you and Danny charge up the Thermoses and then let it release the energy on the ghosts. I can also still send my duplicate as a distraction so they will surround me and make themselves a focused target." Carolyn explained.

"There was a time when this would've been too much for me to comprehend. It sounds like a promising plan." Jack confessed. He realized his at times his perceived stupidity was due to the fact he had an undiagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder. Jack actually had a very brilliant mind when he was able to focus.

"Wow Jack. You must've Carolyn's advice with that mind concentration enhancement seminar she invited you to." Vlad responded. Jack had at the advice of both Vlad and Carolyn taken special meditation and yoga classes that dramatically improved to help him overcome some of his attention problems.

"Had to V-man. Didn't want to blast someone else with one of my experiments again." Jack replied. Vlad and Carolyn looked at each other. It was a touchy subject but Vlad had come a long way since the lab accident those years ago. The awkward silence was quickly interrupted by Nathan.

"I just reversed the polarity on the Fenton Thermos so it will fire outward instead of trying to pull a ghost in." Nathan blurted out as he brought several thermoses to the front where Jack and Danny were. Carolyn had her hands still on the base floor of the Jumper to keep it invisible but was starting to get an arm cramp.

"Hey, can one of you trade with me? I'm getting cramps holding onto the floor to keep it invisible." Carolyn asked.

"I'll take over dear." Vlad walked over, knelt down and laid his hands down on the floor as Carolyn got up and stretched.

Meanwhile, Danny and Nathan scanned the modified Fenton Thermoses to make sure they were emitted the same frequency as the fish creatures. Danny then carefully began to open diet soda and pour it into the Fenton Foamers as much as it would hold until an inch from the top of the barrel. He then carefully tightened the lid and secured the Foamers to be ready for use. Nathan placed two supercharged now soda filled foamers next to Carolyn. Once they were close enough to the ghosts she would remove her hands from the shuttle making it tangible and then prepare to bombard the ghosts with the now soda explosive contents of the Fenton Foamers. Everything checked out and then they then each picked up a thermos and held it waiting for the order to leave the Jumper and zap the ghosts.

"Everyone, on my mark get ready to leave the jumper and start zapping the ghosts." Jack instructed. Beads of sweat were pouring down his face as he placed his hand over the switch to open the doors. He began his countdown.

"Three- two-one." Jack said and the doors slid open and Danny and Nathan stepped into the next room and waited as the doors shut down behind them and then the doors to space opened. Their thermoses were tight in their hands as they flew out. Carolyn sent a duplicate of herself out into space via teleportation from the jumper to be the bait while her original self grabbed a Fenton Foamer in each hand. Vlad grabbed two more Foamers and was right next to her, armed and ready. Meanwhile Carolyn's duplicate flew off towards the ghosts from a different angle to distract them from the ambush they were about to receive.

"Hey guys, looking for me?" Carolyn's duplicate said with a fanged grin as the ghosts began to fly towards her furiously. She shot away from them and began moving in a circle as they chased her. Having lured a large number of the ghosts into one area Danny looked at Nathan.

"Let's do this!" Danny hollered as Carolyn and Vlad furiously shook the Fenton Foamers to build pressure from the soda inside and then fired explosive blasts of gunk all over the ghosts. Then Danny and Nathan became visible and began to zap at the ghosts with the modified thermoses. After numerous zaps Danny and Nathan paused as Carolyn formed a shield around the now exposed ghosts to keep the ecto energy around them which was being absorbed by the Fenton Foam smattering on each of the ghosts. Soon ghosts that were zapped realized they were no longer able to be tangible as they tried to touch some non ectoranium rocks to hurl at Danny and Nathan and to their horror, their hands went right through the space rock. Even the energy they fired simply passed through every solid rock as it also was out of phase along with them. They looked puzzled at each other at kept firing at everything but nothing was affected. Some of the ghosts looked saddened and began to go back to the portal they came out of. Others screamed and began to fight with each other.

The Time Wrangler saw what was happening and managed to dodge all the blasts and the foam as he hid behind an asteroid watching the sudden turn of events. He was furious to see the ghosts had now become unable to interact in this universe. One by one they all began to retreat and floated in defeat toward the ghost portal. Danny spotted the Time Wrangler and pointed him to Nathan. Carolyn handed Danny a spare unused Fenton Foamer for the occasion.

"OK, Carolyn. You and Vlad start to zap the asteroid while Nathan and I try to zap the Time Wrangler." Danny spoke on his intercom wristband. Vlad left a duplicate behind to keep the shuttle intangible as he and Carolyn flew out toward the asteroid. Vlad had gone over the specific angles to fire at the rock and shared them with Carolyn till she knew them by heart. Still she looked at her phone to see the instructions and be certain of what she was doing.

Their blasts continued until the asteroid began to angle towards Jupiter. The more they fired on it the faster it went. Soon it was hurling its way until it finally began to breakup as it entered Jupiter's gravity. The asteroid began to break into a bunch of burning fireworks of smaller rocks as it entered into Jupiter's upper atmosphere. The Time Wrangler also saw the asteroid with horror as he kept dodging blasts by Danny and Nathan while firing blasts at the two teenagers. He sneered angrily at Vlad and Carolyn and then turned back to Danny and Nathan.

"So you think you insignificant beings can defeat me by stealing my warriors powers and destroying the asteroid?! Well, guess again. I have a very special surprise for you." You aren't the only ones who have powers!" The Time Wrangler snarled and then pulled out his watch.

"What are you threatening to do? Time yourself to see how long you can bore us with one of your long drawn out threats?" Danny said sarcastically.

"Foolish ghost child! Do you really think you can defeat me?" The Time Wrangler spat and Nathan turned invisible and flew behind the Wrangler. He then turned visible and fired a Fenton Foamer. The gunk splat the creature from behind, thoroughly covering the Time Wrangler.

"Noooo!" The Time Wrangler cried as Nathan then fired an ecto shot from a Fenton Thermos. The foam would absorb and already began to cause the creature to become out of phase with the universe. The Wrangler furiously shook the foam off but the damage was done. He flew toward a space rock and phased right through it. He snarled like a wild animal as he turned back toward Nathan and then shot an angry glance at Danny.

"You're defeated. You can't bother anyone in this universe any longer. You might as well just go to the Ghost Zone. You're finished Time Wrangler!" Danny spat at him.

"You think I'm finished, but there is still something I can do to you. I'm just going to let two people; Jack and Vlad relive an earlier timeline, at least in their minds." The Time Wrangler smiled as he caused his watch to appear. It was hidden from the main shot of foam so it still had power in this universe as he clicked his watch and a strange purplish wave zapped Vlad and then the shuttle. It was now Danny who then fired some Fenton foam on the watch and then blasted it with ecto energy to render it inert.

"You're too late! The power from the watch has already been activated. You may have rendered me and it useless but the damage is done! And I will find a way to become tangible in this reality. You haven't seen the last of the Time Wrangler!" The creature spat as his brownish smoke darkened and then he quickly vanished from sight.

"Come back you coward!" Danny yelled. He was furious at this creature and wanted to fight him. Nathan had to calm him down.

"Let it go Badger. The Time Wrangler can no longer hurt anyone. He must've teleported." Nathan said to Danny but Danny wouldn't listen.

"What about what the Wrangler said about messing with yours and my dad?!" Danny asked angrily as he kept looking around for any sign of the Wrangler.

Let's get back to the shuttle and check on them. They're probably fine and the Time Wrangler is just full of hot air because he can't hurt anyone anymore." Nathan said as he looked around trying to spot the creature. Nathan silently hoped that he was correct, that the Wrangler's statements were only empty threats.

As both Nathan and Danny turned to head toward the shuttle Danny saw Vlad behaving oddly as if looking for something and then saw him jet to the shuttle as Carolyn tried to catch up. As Vlad entered the shuttle the rest of the gang tried to catch up to him but was too far behind. Vlad made it into the main shuttle area but the doors leading to the inner part of the shuttle had jammed leaving Carolyn, Danny and Nathan inside the shuttle but unable to go through the second set of doors. They began to bang on the shuttle doors but neither Jack nor Vlad seemed to notice them, almost as if they were both in another world. In both their minds they actually were.

Vlad now only recalled his former timeline and how he pined for Maddie, threatened to take over the planet upon defeating the asteroid and believed he had revealed to the world he was a half ghost. Jack only remembered the former best friend now turned arch enemy as the fateful words were exchanged to each other.

"How could hold the world hostage like that, Vladdy? And after all the good fortune you've had in your life?" Jack asked in disbelief as he recalled Vlad's offer to stop the asteroid in exchange for ruling the world. The timeline they each imagined was one that no longer existed but in both their minds it was their reality at the moment. Yet neither knew the asteroid had already been destroyed as Vlad continued to look for it on the screens as the heated discussion continues.

"GOOD FORTUNE? You infect me with ghost DNA, then steal the love of my life, and you call that good fortune? " Vlad spat back. He knew that Maddie never truly loved him despite the subtle moves he made before the lab accident, but his bitterness at rejection only blinded him.

" I infected you? You mean... ?" Jack trailed off as Vlad interject.

"YES, FOOL! It was your bumbling that made me what I am today. But, I suppose I should saying "thank you", for without you, I wouldn't be moments away from becoming ruler of the Earth. " Vlad said haughtily as he glanced at Earth, now looking like a small blue pebble from where they were.

"I never meant to hurt you, what happened was an accident. Wh... I'm your friend Vladdy, I've always been your friend, I even voted for you. " Jack stared at Vlad, the one he thought he knew as his best friend still unable to process this darker version he never truly noticed until now.

"I'll remember that when I steal Maddie from you, and make her my queen." Vlad confessed. He had intended to force her to marry him upon his victory and subsequent rule of the Earth. This was the last straw for Jack as Vlad decided to teleport back into space near the asteroid.

Jack was hurt to the core. He couldn't believe what his best friend was saying to him. He turned away and squeezed his eyes closed in anger as he realized he no longer had a best friend, but a stranger he thought he knew all these years. A stranger who had always his own agenda first long before any portal accident.

Vlad was unable to find the asteroid forgetting that it had already been destroyed. He scanned all around him but saw nothing. Frustrated, he needed help from Jack to locate it.

"Jack, you have to help me. I can't locate this asteroid without you. You wouldn't turn you back on an old friend, would you? " Vlad pleaded with a less than sincere tone to his voice.

"An old friend, no. You, YES! " Jack retorted.

Danny used his freezing powers and the shuttle doors were finally freed and swung open as Vlad stared into the shuttle window at his former now ex-best friend in shock. Jack was preparing to start the shuttle and leave Vlad. Carolyn heard the shuttle engines firing up and used her ghost powers and shot an ecto blast at the wall panel that connected to the internal shuttle controls to try to disable them. The shuttle began to fly away and Vlad looked in shock at Jack leaving him abandoned in space.

"Jack!" Vlad cried. Then saddened by the ultimate rejection, turned away in despair and sat on a floating space rock. Vlad felt he had truly burned his bridges as he watched the shuttle flying away when suddenly, unexpectedly the shuttle stopped and began to drift. The engines shut down as Carolyn had fired several more ecto blasts at the shuttle wiring finally disabling it.

"We need to go get my dad. He's acting funny and didn't even see us!" Nathan pleaded to Danny. Danny could tell something was off not only with him but his own dad as well, but first they needed to get Vlad.

"Aunt Carolyn, don't let my dad take off without us. I don't think he knows we're even here." Danny warned her as he went with Nathan to go after Vlad. This left Carolyn alone with Jack. She didn't know what was going on but what she heard made her livid.

"What the actual hell Jack?! I know my husband can be quite a jerk but you don't leave someone, ANYONE out into space to die! That's murder Jack! I hated you when you did it to him in the other timeline. I hated you when you left him to rot in that hospital in that other timeline and never answered for the accident you caused him. You and Maddie never visited him once! Vlad said and did some mean things but you are as much to blame in all of this for treating him so cruelly." Carolyn shot at him. Jack ignored Carolyn speaking about Maddie in second person. He was convinced that she was in fact Maddie.

"Baby cakes what are you doing on the shuttle? And why are you defending Vlad? Also why is your hair darker?" Jack asked thinking he was talking to his wife. He was also puzzled as he thought he left her on the Earth.

"Vlad Masters IS my husband!" Carolyn snapped back and transformed into her female Carolyn Plasmius. Jack looked shocked and turned away in disgust at her. He had no memory of Carolyn or the new timeline that was his and everyone's reality. He still only remembered the original events in the old timeline.

"Maddie, why are you calling Vladdy your husband and why are you turning into a ghost?! I hate ghosts! With the exception of you of course. But why are you a ghost?!" Jack asked confused and conflicted. Carolyn rolled up her eyes.

"You're obviously are under some kind of spell. You don't remember me at all do you? How I got pulled through the portal and changed everything. You're Maddie is still on Earth. I am as much her as she is me except I'm from that other universe. I also am very much in love with Vlad Masters or Vlad Plasmius. Two personas, one husband. I know in that other accursed timeline he said some messed up junk about stealing your wife. He did try to steal her in that earlier timeline. For some reason I think he's being forced to relive the memory of that timeline due to the same spell that has caused you to only remember the former timeline. " Carolyn was interrupted as Jack glared at her.

"What you're saying sounds crazy! None of this makes any sense to me." Jack spat back as he could only see what he thought was his Maddie, now turned into a ghost persona. He felt betrayed and confused.

"Make no mistake, I'm crazy mad how he acted as well but that gives you no excuse for you to stoop to his level and turn your back on him so you can leave him out into space to die! Yes, he can still die out here if left out long enough Jack." Carolyn looked sternly at Jack. Jack had to admit there was no logical reason Maddie was a half-ghost. Perhaps what was being told to him might be true after all. He was just so confused and in shock about everything.

"OK, let's assume you are Carolyn and not Maddie. That still doesn't change the fact that Vlad threatened to steal my wife and make her his Queen. That made me want to leave him out in space. I hated what he threatened to do so I left him out there." Jack vehemently defended his actions. Deep down Jack knew his abandoning Vlad was wrong but his moral conscious shut down at the betrayal of Vlad's threats.

"Yeah I know. Vlad was messed up long before the portal accident. We've been going to therapy. He was making great progress until whatever caused you both to forget this timeline and everyone associated with it. I don't know how to snap you out of it for the moment, but I promise I have the same power as him and I wont let him hurt Maddie. She's my friend too!" Carolyn replied as Jack just looked down at the floor, no longer looking angry but just sad. Saddened that his best friend would turn on him so, unable to accept that both he and his now former best friend were under the effect of a spell.

As Carolyn struggled to convince Jack what was happening, Danny and Nathan had their own struggles as they both flew over to see Vlad sitting on a space rock looking saddened.

"Dad, what are you doing? Why did you take off your space suit?" Nathan asked as he hovered over him. Vlad looked up at him puzzled at this teenager who looked almost identical to Danny and called him 'father.'

"First, the suit is too bulky and as you know, in ghost form one can theoretically survive without oxygen in space indefinitely. Albeit I still need water along with food so I suspect several days and I would die of dehydration. Not that any of that matters now. How can I go back? I failed to even locate the blasted asteroid and now Jack wont even help after what I said. Instead Jack hates me for threatening Maddie and he just left me here. I just wanted to feel her hold me. I thought she would learn to love me like Jack...eventually. All I ever wanted was love." Vlad confessed as Nathan's jaw dropped.

"Dad, you and mom helped defeat the asteroid. And enough with the Maddie comments, you're going to make mom jealous!" Nathan said feeling rather embarrassed.

"Yeah Fruitloop, that stuff about my mom is pretty messed up. She did love and always will love Jack. And besides, you got the exact version of my mom, basically my mom from another reality. Why can't you be happy?!" Danny asked in protest. He knew Vlad was under some spell due to the Time Wrangler. Nathan was now fed up with his dad not recognizing him. He was determined to get Vlad to snap out of it.

"Dad, I'm your son!" Nathan snapped and Vlad looked at him in utter shock.

"I don't have a son! All those years in the hospital robbed me of a chance of having one with the only woman I ever really loved; Maddie!" Vlad snarled back angrily. He didn't even know who this kid was that was talking to him.

"Don't you remember me? I'm your son Nathan. Don't you remember mom? Carolyn?!" Nathan asked bitterly. He knew it was the spell but he was hurt to the core at his dad's comments.

"Carolyn? Who the blazes is Carolyn?!" Vlad spat back at him. He had it with annoying teenagers and just figured it was one of Danny's friends who also happened to be a half-ghost trying to punk him at his bitter bachelorhood.

"Your wife." Carolyn transformed back into her human self in the space suit and flew up to them after finally convincing Jack he was under a spell. He would've never believed her until he saw the photos and clips on her phone. Now she had to break the spell on her own husband. She motioned Danny and Nathan to back away so she could talk to Vlad alone. She then pulled out her phone as she realized Vlad still thought she was Maddie.

"Maddie! You do care..." Vlad said thinking he was talking to Maddie. Carolyn needed to prove to Vlad she was not Maddie. She transformed back into ghost knowing she didn't need her suit on once in ghost form and then she phased out of the suit to prove who she was to Vlad.

"Could Maddie do this?" Carolyn asked with sharpness in her voice. Vlad smirked bitterly.

"Great! So Jack found a way to ruin another person's life beside that of his former best friend and his son! I pity who you married Madeline!" Vlad spoke with bitter resignation in his voice. In his mind he never saw Jack as true friend, only the bumbling oaf who ruined things for everyone. Carolyn leaned within inches of his face. She tried to fight her anger, frustrated she couldn't get Vlad to see reason.

"I'm not Maddie. I'm Carolyn...Carolyn Maddie Wells now Carolyn Masters. I came from another reality. We fell in love and eventually got married. If you won't believe me, believe these family photos." She said as she clicked on the phone and photos began to appear showing them together on many occasions and the wedding where her and Vlad were in the picture along with Jack and Maddie. As Vlad looked at the photos he just shook his head in disbelief. He was not able to accept the truth. The spell on Vlad affected him more deeply than Jack. Carolyn suspected the Time Wrangler made the strong extra powerful for Vlad on purpose.

"So are you going to pout on this asteroid and just run from your problems or are you going to face them?" Carolyn challenged Vlad. She couldn't yet get him to snap out of the power of the spell so she did the next best thing; reason with Vlad in the reality he currently believed he was in. The one where he threatened Jack and then was abandoned by him and left on an asteroid in space.

"What do you know about it?! I have gotten use to disappointing everyone I cared about, until caring became too painful and I turned cold. When I had to say goodbye to my dad and sister, that's when I really stopped caring." Vlad confessed. The root of his narcissism wasn't so much the way his dad raised him, it was the sudden loss of most of his family. Just like when Danny wanted to have his human half removed in that horrible alternate future of Dark Dan. The emotions were too painful for Vlad. He removed his himself from those caring feelings internally.

"I can never imagine what you went through, but I do know what it is like to lose someone that is close to me. Losing my husband years ago to a heart attack was the most devastating thing that I ever faced. I buried myself in my work to run from it. And I kept running from it for years until I finally realized running would never truly help me get over my heartbreak." Carolyn spoke with tears as she remembered the pain she endured many years ago. It stung like opening a fresh wound.

"I wish I could say I feel your pain. Grief made me feel weak and vulnerable. I hated feeling like that. I promised to myself I would never let myself feel weak ever again!" Vlad spat as he turned away from Carolyn. Carolyn floated closer to Vlad.

"Why Vlad? Why is it weak to feel the human emotions of grief?" Carolyn knew the best thing she could do right now was let Vlad talk to her. She bit her lip internally wanting to find ways to prove to Vlad at the moment she was his wife. Right now he was revealing the core trigger that had turned his heart to stone. Vlad needed someone willing to listen to him.

"Because after losing my dad and sister I wasn't able to convince mom not to trust my dad's crooked so called best friend that he was robbing us blind. Dad warned me about emotions can become a weakness, able to interfere with logic and reasoning. We lost the house because I was too torn up over everything! I was made weak by my blasted emotions and as I consequence I didn't fight hard enough to save us! I could've gathered together expense reports that would've revealed the thievery that scum was up to. It was all my fault!" Vlad clenched his gloved fists as he sat on the space rock.

You were just a kid when that happened! You can't blame yourself. You and your mom were emotionally vulnerable. This was suppose to be a trusted best friend. They're are the worst kind because they wait for the moment when everything is falling apart to strike and then it's too late." Carolyn had given the argument everything she had. She wondered if Vlad would ever snap out of the spell. She was determined not to give up but could feel herself becoming physically weak from the stress of the emotions. Then Carolyn had an idea.

"Your dad always told you not to be weak right?" Carolyn asked.

"Yes, of course he did." Vlad looked at her wondering what she was getting at.

"Remind me again why you're on this space rock?" Carolyn looked squarely at Vlad. He frowned having to explain everything but grudgingly began to answer her.

"I not only threatened Jack, but I let down everyone on Earth. I thought I could use my ghost powers to move the asteroid but I couldn't even touch it. I've doomed the whole planet because I sabotaged the only hope of destroying the asteroid and now there is nothing I can do! Who could ever trust me again?!" Vlad began to yell.

"Show me where the asteroid is currently heading?" Carolyn asked with a smirk. She knew the asteroid had been destroyed and Vlad wouldn't find anything out in space hurling towards the earth. Vlad looked around and was unable to spot the asteroid. He became puzzled as he lifted off of the rock he was on and frantically floated around looking all over for the disasteroid's presence.

"Oh butter biscuits! I don't get it! It was here and heading straight for the Earth! Things like this don't just disappear!" Vlad was determined to locate the asteroid but it was no where to be found. Carolyn finally found a picture that should remove all doubt in Vlad's mind. It was the movie clip she made of the asteroid falling into the orbit of Jupiter and getting destroyed. She opened the clip to Vlad and pressed the play button. She knew he had ignored the other pictures, but the lack of an asteroid might stir Vlad to force him to face reality.

Vlad's jaw dropped when he saw the footage of him and Carolyn shooting the final blast that steered the asteroid safely away from earth's trajectory and into the gas giant. The fog around his mind began to lift. The spell had been weakened by the revelation of the pictures and he began to remember the woman he met that fateful day he was hit with the portal blast. He remembered everything.

"So that's how we got around the asteroid, by repelling it with our own ghost powers. Since we couldn't touch the thing, the simple answer was just to repel it back with our own ghost energy. How clever! But what happened to me? Why did I forget all this...forget my family...you?" Vlad asked now in confusion as he looked back at Carolyn.

"You were under a spell by the Time Wrangler. It was his last ditch revenge after we blasted him and his cronies so they couldn't interact in this universe any longer." Danny explained as Vlad looked wearily at everyone.

"Where is that blasted creature!?" Vlad snarled, fed up of the antics of the Time Wrangler and wishing he could just pummel him at the moment.

"It looks like he gave up and probably retreated into the Ghost Zone. He can't interact with anything anymore." Carolyn said feeling relieved the threat was now passed but she couldn't help to shake the feeling she and Vlad were being watched.

"Let's get back to the shuttle." Vlad said and they all returned to the port entrance and the doors opened easily this time. Vlad entered first ahead of the others as he was in a hurry to see Jack, although part of him dreaded it. He couldn't undo the awful things he said to Jack while under the spell anymore than Jack could undo his decision to attempt to abandon Vlad in space. Vlad looked at Jack as the rest of the family fell silent. He walked up to him and Jack looked at him with saddened eyes. What Vlad said next would stun everyone.

"I'm sorry Jack for what I said. I was under a spell by the Time Wrangler, but it was still wrong to say it." Vlad never apologized for anything in his life to Jack...until now. Jack looked at him with the eyes of someone who had lost their best friend and now had finally gotten them back.

"No Vladdy, I'm sorr..." Before Jack could finish Vlad came up and this time it was Vlad who gave Jack a bone crushing hug. Jack was stunned as Vlad never before ever tried to hug Jack. What was said next was three words Jack had prayed he would one day hear.

"I forgive you." Vlad said and Jack felt tears roll down his cheeks. That was the three words that Jack had always hoped Vlad would one day say. Ever since the portal accident Jack felt horrible for what he had done to Vlad. Although not under any spell, he still remembered the former timeline where Vlad spent years in the hospital. All those reasons to remain angry had been taken down by those words. It no longer mattered that Vlad was that once an evil half ghost who tried to rule the world. The only face Jack saw was a best friend he felt he had lost and was now returned to him.

Vlad also felt a burden lift him for he didn't realize his grudge was hurting him more than Jack. They were both stirred out of their thoughts as the shuttle engines came back to life. Everyone stood silent as the two men made peace for years of wrongs on both sides. Jack turned and looked to everyone and said the next most welcome words anyone could hear.

"Let's go home."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 Homecoming

**Klaatu: I'm thrilled I finally have made it to the last chapter. Now out of school I have the time to complete this work. It was truly awesome to write and I am grateful for all the reviews. This has been quite an undertaking and I certainly didn't realize this would become a story of nineteen chapters. This story was like a therapy for me as I saw stuff in the Danny Phantom cartoon that I didn't agree with in particular with the handling of the dreaded Phantom Planet. I felt that Jack was really messed up for leaving Vlad in space despite everything and it was a timeline that needing changing desperately.**

**As current in the story, Danny, his dad and the Masters family have returned to earth and there has been no further incidents relating to the Time Wrangler. There is a surprise in this story that some of you may suspected, a character will be coming into the story but I wont give anything else away. Also note, I plan to write an extra chapter about the inspiration and back story of some of the OC characters. The main story will be otherwise completed in this chapter. Enjoy and thank you again for your reviews.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Checkmate or Endgame.

Danny's POV

When we finally returned to earth there was in construction underway of a statue of me, my dad and the Plasmuis family. I heard Vlad insisted that I be given the most credit for the asteroid defeat so my statue was the one holding up the world. I guess he had his fill of fanfare and decided being less of a celebrity meant more time with his wife and son. Clever Fruitloop, leaving most of the fan following for me to deal with!

Nathan when he transformed kept alternating between looking like me as a ghost and looking like his dad until he eventually retained his dad's Plasmuis form during transformation. He was relieved the Amity statue they built however was when he looked more like me as he liked that look better but cringed when he learned one country opted for Nathan Plasmuis. I think it was only fair as Nathan and I looked almost like twins save our chins. Rather than us being confused by others it was better for him to keep his Plasmuis look like his dad. I think he looked kind of cool in a cape anyway.

Vlad had allowed Tucker to be the assistant to the Mayor as Tucker was eying for becoming the mayor one day himself. He would make an announcement as the statues were being finished. Amity wasn't the only place where a statue of us would be present and that there were many nations throughout the world building one to honor us. It seemed a bit too much attention but I would learn to get used to it.

The rest of the world didn't know our true identities and I was content with that. As many friend that Danny Phantom made I knew there would still be some that would try to take advantage of our powers. I was especially suspicious of the GIW after what happened to Aunt Carolyn which underscored the need to keep our identities safe within the family. I found it ironic however that Dash of all people finally noticed a resemblance between Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton in comments he made to me. I think deep down he suspected I was Phantom and stopped bullying me like he used to. He never admitted why but I had my own suspicions that he secretly knew.

The male fish creature had been awakened from suspended animation as we saw the female when we returned to the mansion. His trust of us for helping him along with the video clips on the keyboard must've been enough to convince the female our portal blast didn't kill off their kind. They both expressed thanks speaking to us in their strange voices and they voluntarily returned to the Ghost Zone as they felt more at home there and knew it was a safer place for their kind. Rumor has it there were more of their kind spotted in the zone which meant probably other survivors of the Ordovician event has escaped in the time rifts that we suspected were created by the portal accident. I kind of hated to see them go as they had become in an odd way, friends of the family despite the problems caused by the female in the early days. At least now they could find a lair in the Ghost Zone and not worry about being hunted by GIW or others.

It was great to see Sam and Tucker again. It seemed like another lifetime after all we had been through. School had let out early in celebration of the asteroid having been destroyed. I never thought that my first experience to going out into space would be as a half-ghost rather than joining an space training program, but I still had my dreams of becoming an astronaut and Vlad was very helpful in helping me get accepted to Astronaut Training program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston Texas. I still had junior and senior year at high school to finish before leaving, but I was still both excited as well as saddened that I would have to be away from my family and best friends for 2 years while I was training. I would still get to visit them from time to time but the true test of friendship is long distance relationships. Thank God for the Internet so that we can stay connected more often.

"Hey Badger, someone is here to see you." Nathan said with a smirk. I looked up and also saw Vlad and Carolyn walking towards me. What I didn't expect was who came up behind them. It was Dani Phantom flying up! I had seen her on the phone clips from the previous timeline and was saddened that she wouldn't have existed in this one and yet here she was! I ran up to her barely able to contain my excitement.

"Dani! It's awesome to see you. How in the world are you here?!" I asked. I was both stunned and overjoyed at the same time. My first reaction to seeing her was this must be a dream. But it was real as she landed and transformed in front of me back into her non ghost form.

"You can thank Clockwork. I was the only one who would've been erased from existence when the timeline was changed after Carolyn was pulled through the portal. Luckily I was in the Ghost Zone. I was fleeing my father Vlad in the former timeline when Clockwork appeared and pulled me into the Realm Beyond Time. I was safe in the Realm as the timeline began to change since this Realm exists beyond normal spacetime. After the timeline changed I stabilized enough to where I could safely enter this reality. This is so cool!" Dani explained. I would've never followed what she said so easily had I not spent some time studying temporal mechanics with Nathan.

"We're so blessed to have you and yet I feel so awful for the way my former self treated you in that other timeline. I would understand you not having anything to do with me." Vlad confessed. Dani looked saddened by the comment. She knew that this Vlad use to be the same one that was horrible in the previous timeline. That evil was still buried inside of him yet he managed to control the darkness that stirred despite his father's ill-guided teachings. Carolyn had been able to help bring out the good in Vlad side while helping him overcome the evil nature that he had to fight with. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. While I thought on this I wondered how Dani would feel about this 'new' version of her dad. Her response to Vlad's comments were totally unexpected and took us all by surprise.

"I hated what you did in that other timeline, but it wasn't the you that is you now. Carolyn explained to me that there is a darkness inside of us all, and that your dad only taught you conquest and the ends justifying the means. I'm glad she was able to come into your life and show you a better way. I know there will be times I might still feel afraid of you, but I will learn to trust you over time. You are a new a better Vlad and that's all that matters is I love you...Dad." Dani replied as she slowly walked up to him and gave him a hug. Everyone was stunned. Here she was looking at the same man who tried to melt her in another timeline, and yet she was able to see who Vlad was now. In many ways, Dani's wisdom and ability to forgive were beyond her years.

"I don't think I've quite deserved the title of 'Dad' yet, but know that I love you . You are family and are welcome to stay with us if you so wish." Vlad said as he looked at her with tears brimming in his eyes. Tears I guessed were of guilt for how he had acted in the other timeline. I could tell he was sick and disgusted with the way his other self was. Yet Dani was willing yet to forgive him. I prayed that Vlad would learn to forgive himself as well.

"Thank you for saving him." Dani then whispered as she walked up and hugged Carolyn. It still amazed me how much Carolyn was able to bring out the goodness from Vlad. I kept thinking she knew something I didn't. After everyone went into the living room of the mansion to cut some leftover celebration cake that my mom and dad had cooked I was soon to find out as Carolyn walked over to me.

"You know Danny, I did something to help Vlad find his good side besides all my persuasion and everything. It's an Empathy Stone. I sort of 'borrowed' it from a science lab to study. This stone is believed to be from an advanced alien race. It is believed to contain the prayers of a people known as the Yddrin." Carolyn smiled as she explained it to me as she showed a necklace she had partially hidden under her Burgundy turtleneck shirt. It was bluish white with an unusual glow.

"Hold on. You're wearing alien tech?" I asked. This was just too much to follow.

"Yes. It allowed me to join with Vlad's mind and see through his eyes into his past, how his father had treated him. I was able to be in his mind and tell him he didn't have to feel bad about doing good for others. That life wasn't always about winning. His dad had allowed poverty in his early life to make him selfish and cold for a time, thus reflecting this attitude on Vlad." Carolyn explained. I had more questions after that comment.

"How come Vlad? Wasn't Vlad's sister also having to put up with this as well?" I asked.

"Annie, Vlad's sister was raised on the notion that women were to be the caregivers and homemakers. The Masters' men were to be the conquerors of the business world." Carolyn added shaking her head. This was an older traditional way of thinking in the 50's that was totally outdated nowadays, at least in our culture.

"Still, how were you finally able to persuade Vlad?" I knew there had to be more to it than what Carolyn originally stated.

"When I wore the Stone I felt the prayers. It enabled me to reawaken my faith in the Lord and I refocused those prayers. My prayer was to have Vlad and me see through each other's eyes. After praying I was able to share my very feelings with Vlad while he also began to experience my feelings. When Vlad experienced the emotions of empathy from me he began to feel these same feelings. It was like being emotionally blind and having one's eyes opened for the first time. All the hardness from the loss he felt after the car accident also began to soften. I could feel the hurt and conflict that Vlad felt as well. He not only began to be a better person, we also understood each other in ways that words would never have been enough." Carolyn said. I was truly amazed by it all when my thoughts were interrupted with my Dad coming into the living room with what looked like a new Fenton Bazooka.

"Whoa, careful with that Dad!" I said. I knew that my dad could be clumsy at times and he now also accepted I was half-ghost and could be affected by his tech. Still I wasn't prepared for what he explained to me.

"This actually wont hurt ghosts. Carolyn helped me with designing this and based some of the principal on that alien stone she has. I don't fully understand it but it will transmit the emotion of 'trust' towards ghosts or whatever they are, so as to give them a chance to explain themselves. It is hard but I am trying to learn that not all ghosts are evil. Being good or evil is a choice based on how someone behaves, not on what they are." Dad explained. I was stunned at what I was hearing.

"How does Mom feel about this?" I asked. I knew between the two of them Mom hated ghosts the most after her experiences as a child.

"She was reluctant at first but is starting to feel it's a good first step in trying to reason with the ghosts rather than just hunt them. She also mentioned how exhausting it is to just try hunting ghosts all the time and actually welcomes a more 'diplomatic solution'. She still however has a lot of trust issues to overcome with ghosts except for you Danny since you're our son and she also trusts the Masters family despite Vladdy's earlier shenanigans.." My Dad carefully explained as my mom came in with some muffins.

"As long as Vlad behaves himself so I wont have to put him in a Fenton Thermos." Mom said with a smirk on her face. It was funny to see Fruitloop look a bit pale for a moment. There still was some history between them when Vlad was more troublesome as well as clips of a former timeline to live down that survived on Carolyn's phone. But Mom was cool. The one good thing about having scientist parents. Alternate timeline; totally valid excuse.

"Maddie, although I can't remember being so awful in that other timeline, I still feel I owe you an apology. It is embarrassing to see all the crazy things I put you, Daniel and the Fenton family through in that other reality which were numerous and included: possessing Jack to make a fool out of him at a college reunion, trapping you and Daniel in my Rocky Mountain Chalet, threatening not to save the Earth from the Disasteroid unless I was paid an outrageous sum of money and became its ruler. It's like watching a horrible movie and it's hard to accept I could've ever been that evil and obsessed." Vlad confessed.

"I know that past version of you isn't who you are now. Carolyn also explained to me about your past. I don't excuse any wrong or misguided actions you made in the former reality or this one, but I understand why you did what you did. At least what I'm learning to call this 'new time' which is just the only timeline I've ever really known, you let the good side win." Maddie nudged Vlad on the arm. He winced a bit as Maddie could be quite strong but then laughed. This was truly a better version of Vlad that I was grateful I had a chance to get to know.

My thoughts were interrupted by my phone beeping an alarm. Today was suppose to be the christening of the completed statues at Amity Park. I only wanted to go as Sam and Tucker were going to be there. I didn't feel like I needed to be around all the hoopla. I had my fill when we first got back from the space mission. I was just happy Earth had been saved and as far as I'm concerned, it was the Fenton and Masters' family combined that were as much the heroes and deserved as much to be with the statue holding up the world rather than just me. Originally the sculptors tried to include everyone else but the budget wouldn't allow it and so they just opted for me to be there. Although other statues around the world had my Dad and the Masters family in some places, I still was the one statue mainly holding up the world. It just felt rather embarrassing to have all that attention and I would rather be just alone with Sam. In fact, I decided to ditch the fancy speeches and do just that. Being invisible is easy, I am half-ghost after all.

-Monument Ceremony: A Few Hours Later-

Despite weather reports predicting a hotter morning, it remained a cool spring day as I sat down under an oak tree with Sam looking at me. We had not said a lot since my returning from space. I had this moment that I dreamed about in my mind of cupping her face and kissing her. I knew she had feelings for me and I was still nervous inside wondering when to make the right move. I could hear Tucker in doing his speech and even though his entire speech was about our heroics, he sounded professional enough that I suspected he was probably really serious in becoming Amity's future mayor when he is old enough. As I heard the tribute my wrist band was ringing which I preferred to the smart phones at times.

"Hey, you're not at the ceremony. You of all people deserve to be there." Jazz spoke in a mild complaint in her tone.

"To be frank, I didn't feel like all the commotion so I'm watching it at a distance. By the way, where do Mom and Dad think Danny Fenton is right now, anyway?" I hoped my folks weren't too upset that I didn't want to be in the midst of the celebration, I just am not much for crowds. Call me shy.

"Well, Dad thinks you're with them. I told Mom you were watching at a distance but not to say anything to Dad." She said quietly. I squinted over to the crowd with my ghost vision and there I spotted a robotic version of me with a baseball cap. Seriously?

"I know how oblivious Dad can be but come on!" I said half chuckling. I didn't think the ruse would last for long. Jazz believed otherwise.

I redressed the Tuckbot 9000 to make it look and act like you. He'll never know the difference. Dad was talking with the robot and thought still thought it was you. He even wants you to be his side kick in helping to fight ghosts." Jazz said proudly.

"That's my Dad." I chuckled thinking how Dad could confuse me so easily with the robot, but Dad had that kind of mind; brilliant yet bumbling. It seemed a paradox to have both but that was my Dad. I looked to Sam as she pulled a ring she held onto off her finger that I had asked her to hold. She hesitated for a moment and looked at me.

"It's... the ring you were going to give Valerie. You asked me to hold it, remember? Something tells me it was really meant for me. Take it with you, but promise to bring it back. If you promise, then... then I know I'll see you again." Sam said as she cupped her hands with mine as she spoke. I felt myself become clammy with nervousness but stayed calm on the outside.

"If we make it through this- " I trailed off as Sam added to my statement.

"When we make it through this. " I replied. I knew things would still be hectic as Danny Phantom was now a celebrity and would be in high demand. But I needed to keep on focus as there was something I needed to get off my chest.

" Right. When we make it through this, uh, I have a few things I need to talk to you about. " I was ready to get serious with Sam. Sam meant the world to me and I needed to let her know.

" I think I'd be willing to listen. And no matter how this thing ends, this whole ride we've been on together, I wouldn't change it for the world. Not. One. Bit. " Sam said as she took her hand in mind. I felt my throat go numb but I fought against my nerves.

" Me neither. I- " As I replied Sam kissed me on the cheek. I gulped and placed my hand under Sam's chin and gave her a long, heartfelt kiss. I was stunned but I finally did it. I kissed Sam!

"Wow. Remind me to save the world more often. " I smiled as I looked at Sam. The whole world stopped and I felt like I was literally on top of it.

"Go." Sam smiled as I transformed into Danny Phantom. I took her hand and together we flew up into the clouds. As I looked down at Amity I spotted Vlad in casual clothes for a change, kissing Carolyn under another oak tree not too far from us. I felt good seeing Fruitloop be happy with the love of his life who fortunately wasn't my mom although identical in almost every way. They both stopped kissing long enough and looked up at me. I particularly noticed Vlad's expression. He was grateful for the time I had spent at the castle and eventually the mansion. I'd like to think in some small way I probably played a role in helping bring out the better person Vlad deserved to be. Saving someone from the path of a supervillain is so much better than all of the superpowers I could ever hope to have. That, more than stopping the Disasteroid makes me feel more of a hero I guess.

As we finally flew over the statues I had to laugh at Sam's comment.

"Cool statue. Personally, I would've used recycled materials, but, you know, that's just me. " Sam said as we flew off into the coolness of the clouds across the sky. While we didn't know what the future held, we would stick with each other together and face it. For this moment in time I was present and could enjoy this victory we had and all we had been through. For this moment, all was right with the world.

The End


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